The After Story
by KittyKax
Summary: A year after Edward and Alphonse's travels to the East and West, Ed and Winry settle down and begin their lives together...how will it turn out?
1. Getting Ready

Edward had been standing in front of the mirror for over an hour fiddling with a white tie around his neck. He hated wearing this kind if stuff, it was stiff, restricting, and clothing should not be this complicated to put on! Winey however_ demanded _he wear a proper tuxedo, bluntly stating that she wasn't going to marry him looking like hobo. Ed wanted to make Winry happy, but this long piece of white fabric was seriously testing his patience. He was about to give up when Alphonse walked into the room, tie around his neck perfectly tied.

"Al, can you give me a hand with this damn thing?" Ed whined pointing to demon tie. the younger Elric laughed and helped his older brother out of his dilemma.

"Geez brother, you don't know how to do something as simple as tie a tie?" Alphonse joked.

"Shut up! It's not like it's an essential skill to live!" Ed pouted, his face slightly red. He turned to the mirror again looking himself over. Honestly, the formal outfit looked ridiculous on him, but that was contributing to the fact that he _never _dressed like this. At most he would put on a collared shirt, but most days it was the usual t shirt and slacks, but he was sure Winry would throw a wrench clear down the aisle if he showed up like that.

"You clean up pretty well Ed" Al looked into the mirror standing behind him.

Ed scoffed, "I look like a monkey."

"Well I'm sure Winry will be impressed."

"Knowing her she'll find some flaw about it" the older brother smirked braiding his long blond hair and tying it at the end.

"Big day today huh?" Alphonse leaned against the wall crossing his arms,

"I know it's a big day no need to remind me"

"Nervous?"

"Why should I be?" Ed turned to his brother questioningly, "I'm not gonna run away if that's what you're thinking."

"I know that" Al chuckled, "It's just a big step, thing's are gonna change, what with you and Winry..."

"Hey, nothing's really gonna change, Al" Ed smiled putting a hand on his brother's shoulder, "You and I are still brothers, Winry is still our best friend, it's just that she and I will be...well closer."

"Yeah, _a lot _closer I'm sure," Al loosened up and snorted, "remember when we were kids and we fought over who would marry Winry?"

"And she turned you down?" Ed remembered that fight clearly.

"I almost feel cheated, I won, so how come you're the one marrying her?"

"Sorry brother, you may have won the battle but I won the war." The two laughed together sitting on the floor. It was nice being together like this, ever since Al bit jus body back they hadn't had much time to just sit together and talk like they used to What with both of them constantly on the move. Ed had to admit he missed it. when Alphonse decided to go to the East and Ed to the west, it was like splitting Siamese twins. They had always been together through the good and bad, and Ed still felt weird when his brother wasn't within the same vicinity as him.

"Whoa, guess reminiscing time is over" Al stood up looking at his watch, he smoothed out his jacket and held a hand out for Ed on the floor, "We better get going, you can't be late for your own wedding"

"Yeah yeah I know you guys kept telling me that yesterday 'don't be late, come early, blah blah'" Ed grabbed his brother's hand helping him up. The two brothers walked down stairs and out the door of the big white house. Over the past 3 years after the promise day, they decided to rebuild their childhood home they'd burnt down years before when they said they wouldn't come back. Granted they made some slight aesthetic changes, but it was essentially the same house. Ed smiled. This was the last time he'd be walking out of the house a single man, he paused as he closed the door thinking about how Al was right, it _was _a big day and things were going to change, for everyone. It excited him and frightened him at the same time,

"Brother, come on what are you doing?" Al looked back at Ed who was just standing there with his hand on the doorknob, "Don't make me have to drag you!"

"Relax I'm coming!" Ed let go of the door and caught up with his brother down the path.

_Here goes..._


	2. The Moment of Truth

It was a beautiful day in the rural town of Resembool, sun shining and not a cloud in the sky. The wedding ceremony was taking place in the back of the Rockbell's home/workshop, since Ed and Winry just wanted a small, simple wedding, nothing fancy. The grassy field had been lightly decorated by white chairs where the guests would sit, leaving a space in the middle for the aisle, and a white arch at the end of it decorated with roses in different shades of pink and yellow.

The guests were all seated and Ed casually took his place at the front next to the officiant performing the ceremony. He took that moment to scan over the very diverse crowd before him. Most of the left side was taken up by members of the military while the right side was made up of automail engineers and users from Rush Valley. He looked over and connected eyes with Gracia Hughes in the front row smiling at him gently. Edward knew they were both thinking the same thing, if Hughes was still alive he'd be throwing never ending 'I told you so's about the whole situation. As annoying as the Brigadier General was, he was probably one of the few people in the military Ed liked, even if he did drive him crazy every time they came in contact. He gave Gracia a reassuring smile back.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile just inside the house Alphonse was leaning against the wall waiting for Winry to come downstairs so the ceremony could start. Pinako said she'd only a few minutes but Al hadn't heard a sound coming from upstairs making him a little worried.<p>

"Hey Winry, everything okay up there?"

"I'll be down in a second Al!" Winry's voice called from above, suddenly walking down the staircase came Winry in her wedding attire causing Alphonse's mouth to fall at the sight of his future sister-in-law. Winry was wearing a strapless ivory ballgown with a tiered skirt hemmed with lace and a large cluster of fabric near the waist made to look like flowers. She wore matching ivory gloves and a long lace veil held in place by a silver tiara with her hair pulled back into a neat top bun and her two long locks in front lightly curled at the ends.

"Wow." was all Alphonse could get out as Winry walked towards him.

"Do I look alright, Al?" Winry lightly turned letting her skirt spin and veil flow behind her.

"You look incredible!" Al took her hand looking her over, "Brother's gonna have a heart attack when he sees you!"

"I hope not!" Winry laughed taking her pink and yellow bouquet in her hands, "Thanks for walking me down, Al"

"It's the least I could do for my brother and sister-in-law" he winked and held out his arm, "Shall we?"

"Let's do this" Winry took his arm smiling, and faced the back doors together.

Back outside Edward stood at the alter with his hands behind his back getting a little restless while the guests quietly socialized. But then they all heard the organ player start to play music. Everyone quieted down and looked towards the back. First Elicia Hughes came down the aisle in her pink flower girl dress happily skipping and throwing petals on the ground from her small basket, the guests awed and smiled at the 7 year old's act, even Ed cracked at smile. Elicia got to the front, gave the crowd one last giggle and sat down next to her mother.

Then the music changed to something more grand and all the guests stood up. Edward tensed up a little knowing exactly what he was gonna see come out of the two double doors, Al and...his bride. Man, that sounded weird. The doors slowly opened up revealing two people with locked arms walking out and down the steps, the group of people immediately reacted but Ed had to take a second to realize what he was looking at. He watched Winry walk down the aisle with Al not looking up but he could see her smiling all the way through, she looked like...like an angel(now that's just corny). Winry was not the type of girl who got dressed up often, seeing her like this was a complete surprise. Finally, they made it up to the front where Al let go of Winry's arm and went to sit down next to Pinako. Winry took her spot next to Ed and looked up allowing him to see her up close, his face was still in complete shock almost making her laugh, she was able to hold it in though as the officiant began the ceremony.

"We are gathered here today in the face of this company, to join together this man and this woman in matrimony..." Winry squeezed Edward's hand causing him to shoot a smile at her, she told herself she wasn't going to cry at her wedding but she was about three seconds away from losing it. The officiant finished his words on the sanctity of marriage and turned towards Ed.

"Edward, will you take this woman to be your lawful wedded wife? To have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, honor, and cherish, 'til death do you part?"

"I will" Edward responded not taking his eyes off Winry, a very gentle look spread across his face.

"Winry, will you take this man to be your lawful wedded husband? To have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, honor, and cherish, 'til death do you part?"

Winry didn't even hesitate, "I will" The officiant then asked Ed and Winry to take out their rings and place them on each others' fingers, Edward held up his left hand allowing Winry to slip the gold band onto his ring finger, having to pause between lines so she wouldn't burst into tears, "With this ring I thee wed... as a symbol of our love...and commitment.", Ed took Winry's left hand in his right and gently slipped the matching band onto her ring finger reciting the same line,

"With this ring I thee wed as a symbol of our love and commitment."

"May this couple be prepared to continue to give, be able to forgive and experience more and more joy with each passing day, with each passing year. This couple is now beginning their married life together, we hope that they may have loving assistance from their family, the constant support of friends, and a long life with good health and everlasting love, by the giving and receiving of a ring, I pronounce that they are husband and wife." He looked over at Edward smiling, "You may now kiss your bride"

This was it. He was never a fan of kissing in public, but Ed knew it was tradition and most of the guests were expecting it. He turned back to Winry now with tears streaming down her face, with a small smile he nervously moved closer, holding her waist, leaned in and softly kissed her on the lips. Winry happily threw her arms, bouquet and all, around his neck pressing her lips into his basking in the moment. The wedding guests all stood up clapping for the newlyweds although it was obvious they didn't notice, it was as if time stopped for them as they stood there kissing for at least a minute, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Elric...

* * *

><p>The reception was also held at the Rockbell residence outdoors where the ceremony site was, tables were set up, cafe lights were strewn and hanging across the lawn by poles, and music was softly playing in the background. The guests mingled, danced, and ate, celebrating this joyful day.<p>

"I'm so happy for you two!" Mei Chang giggling as she jumped up and down.

"I'm glad you could be here! You've changed so much since I last saw you!" Winry exclaimed squeezing Mei's hands, the young princess from Xing certainly had done some growing up over the past 3 years since the promise day. Now 16-years-old, Mei had grown the body of a full fledged woman, wearing a long Xing-style dress that hugged her curves perfectly, and her long dark hair out of its usual braids and put up in two fancy buns. Her small panda companion Xiao-Mei rested comfortably on her shoulder.

"Great party Edward!" Ling Yao came from behind Winry munching on a plate of food, while he may be the emperor of Xing now, Ling was as annoying as ever.

"Tell me why we invited _**him**_?" Edward whispers in Winry's ear causing her to lightly smack him.

"Where's Lan-Fan?" Winry asked looking around.

"She's around somewhere, ever since I became emperor she's been watching me closer than ever" Ling chuckled setting his plate down, "Sometimes I think she works too hard trying to keep me safe, I assume she's just doing what Fu would have done" Ling stood in silence for a moment in deep thought before regaining his posture and taking a big bite of food, "Well I'll see you guys' later!" Ling ran off back in his usual mood.

"Come on, let's get some food" Alphonse took a hold of Mei's hand, she gave one last congratulations before walking off swinging arms with her sweetheart. During Al's travels to the East, he and Mei blossomed a relationship when she was training him in alkahestry. While Mei has to live in Xing to represent her clan, and Alphonse is living in Amestris, they keep in touch and visit each other from time to time. Winry smiled at the young couple squeezing her husband's arm that she was holding onto, Winry continued walking through the reception dragging Edward along the way.

"Can we sit down and eat Winry? I'm starving" Ed whined taking a whiff of the delicious food being served at the long tables.

"Edward! We need to say hello to everyone or else they'll think we don't appreciate them being here!"

"We're giving them a free meal aren't we?"

"And I'm going to be married to this for the rest of my life" Winry sighed shaking her head, just then General Roy Mustang and Captain Riza Hawkeye came to them.

"It was a lovely ceremony you two, congratulations" Riza said to the couple smiling softly, looking stunning with her hair down and wearing a long maroon dress.

"I was worried you weren't going to go through with it, Fullmetal" Mustang joked nudging Ed in the shoulder.

"Come on General, I quit the military years ago, will you quit calling me that?"

"Sorry, force of habit, still congratulations"

"So...when are you and the captain gonna tie the knot?" Ed teased the two officers.

"I...I don't think that's any of your business, Edward" Mustang tried to regain his composure looking towards Riza, face turning red.

"Yeah yeah, no point in beating around the bush you two" Edward sang-songed as he turned with Winry walking away.

"Speak for yourself Ed-!" Roy started to call out until Riza linked arms with him stopping his fit of rage.

"Let's go sit down, shall we?" The captain smiled at Roy calming him down,

"Yeah" Roy smiled and they walked back to the table together.

After finally greeting everyone, Edward and Winry finally sat down at their small table eating their meals. Ed completely devoured his plate and got a second helping,

"This food is incredible!" Ed stuffed his face not caring about proper table manners, Winry smiled at his behavior, luckily, it was something she was used to. Winry then set down her fork just when a soft slow song came on the speakers. She stood up and grabbed Edward's hand,

"Come on Ed, we haven't dance together yet as husband and wife"

"I can't dance Winry..." Ed looked away slightly embarrassed, he wasn't a fan of making a fool of himself in front of people.

"Come on Ed, there's nothing to it, I'll do all the work you just need to follow me" Winry got a tighter grip of Ed's right hand, he finally gave in and walked with her to the middle of the dance floor where everyone started watching them 'great' he thought, he had no idea what he was doing, but Winry positioned his hands on her waist and then placed her hands around his neck. They both moved side to side staring at each other moving to the slow pace of the song,

"See? This isn't so hard is it?" Winry teased Ed watching him look at his feet.

"No, I guess not" Ed looked up at Winry getting lost in how amazing she looked all made up.

"What is it?" Winry smiled knowing that Ed was thinking about something.

"It's just...you look...really beautiful" Ed whispered, a small smile and a creep of red on his face.

"You look pretty handsome yourself" Winry smiled messaging the back of his neck, "I can't believe we're actually married."

"Neither can I...never thought I'd be in the position." they continued rocking back and forth looking into each others' eyes long after the song was over, completely lost in their own world again, as if nothing could break them apart.

"You alright, Izumi?" Sig Curtis puts a hand on his wife's shoulder noticing her carefully studying the married couple from afar,

"He's grown up so much hasn't he?" Izumi spoke not taking her eyes off Edward.

"Are you worried at all?"

"...No, I'm not...he's had to face things most people wouldn't be able to handle, let alone at his age. I'm sure he'll be alright for this" Izumi smiled taking hold of her husband thinking about her pupil and his new journey.

* * *

><p>The reception continued with dancing, Ed and Winry cutting the cake, Winry throwing the bouquet (which Mei caught, causing her to eye Al for the whole rest of the night), and finally the newlyweds said goodbye, thanked everyone, and left. The couple walked down the dirt path towards <em>their<em> home together, Winry leaning against Ed not saying a word the entire walk. The moon was full that night and stars filled the sky. Ed looked up smiling at the sight, never feeling so great before. He was married, _actually_ married, to think he had actually gotten _married! _Things couldn't get better. When the two reached their home on top of the hill, Edward opened the front door, switched on the light and walked into the house yawning. But then he noticed his bride wasn't standing next to him, he turned around and saw she was still standing outside, arms crossed with an impatient look on her face,

"Aren't you coming inside?" Edward asked confused.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Winry tapped her foot, Ed still looked confused. Winry sighed annoyingly, "You're supposed to carry me into our house for the first time now that we're married, it's tradition" Ed just shrugged his shoulders, walked back outside, and lifted Winry into his arms with one hand under her knees and the other behind her waist. Winry smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck resting her head on his chest. Edward carried Winry into the house, kicking the door shut behind him and walked up the stars into _their_ bedroom, gently setting her down on _their_ bed.

"Man what a day huh?" Ed loosened his tie and stretched out his arms over his head looking over at Winry laying on the bed, her large skirt billowing all around her. "Don't you want that dress off already? Looks uncomfortable"

"It's not actually" Winry responded kicking her shoes off and laid motionless on the bed, her eyes closed, barely awake, "Besides, I'm never going to get to wear it again, so I want to enjoy it as long as I can"

"Whatever you say, I'm dying to get this monkey suit off'" Ed said tearing off his jacket and walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. Winry finally pulled herself off the bed and walked over to the mirror over the dresser. She began taking off her gloves, earrings, her mother's necklace, the silver tiara, and lifted the long veil out of her hair, gently placing each accessory on the dresser's surface. Edward emerged from the bathroom in nothing but his boxer shorts which didn't bother him as Winry had always seen him in his underwear when working on his automail. He also took his braid out letting his dark blond hair fall over his shoulders, then took notice at Winry at the dresser taking her jewelry off, she looked over and turned her back towards him,

"Hey Ed, could you help me with this?" Winry pointed to her back where the corset-style backing held her dress together, which she couldn't undo herself. Ed's face turned a deep red.

"You...you want me to..undress you?" Ed stuttered a little flustered.

"Ed, we're married now, it's okay" Winry smiled reassuring him. Slightly convinced, Ed slowly walked over and she showed him where to untie it and gently pull on the ribbon until it came loose and she could easily slip out of it. Winry gently wiggled the dress off of her revealing her lacy white panties she wore underneath and...she was completely bare on top. Winry then turned the lamp off making the room entirely dark except for the moonlight shining through the window, she turned towards Edward and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. Unfortunately, Edward couldn't move at this point, he had never seen this much of Winry before...let alone with their skin pressed against each other like this.

Edward finally held Winry in his arms and slowly lowered her onto their bed, lightly kissing each other with him on top. They continued with this until Ed stopped for a moment looking into Winry's eyes,

"Winry...do you want to...?" Winry sighed and grabbed Ed's left hand with her right, then holding up her left,

"Do you see these Ed?" Winry pointed out the matching gold bands, "These mean we're married...you're my husband...I'm your wife...that we can do this."

"I know, I get it, I just don't wanna-..." Winry put a finger to this lips.

"Edward Elric, I've been waiting for this my entire life, I've never been more ready, especially with you" Winry placed her hand on Ed's cheek, tears forming in her eyes, "I love you"

Edward smiled looking down at his wife noticing how beautiful and amazing she really was, he leaned down and started kissing again, only this time it went from soft touches to more fierce and passionate kissing, Winry wrapping her legs around his legs, and Ed moving his hands along her backside. Looking at each other with great passion and love, they proceeded to consummate their marriage...

* * *

><p><strong>Yeah I know this was getting hot but anymore and this would've had to become an M rated fic XD<strong>

**But Holy Cow did I really just write page chapter? O_O**

**I've like never done that before! XD**

**By the way if you wanna know how I described Winry's dress I based it**

**(and Ed's look) off of how it looks in one of the FMA video games where I guess in some**

**ending scenario they get married...? I dunno the game's only in Japan I have no**

**idea, point is that the picture is drawn by the anime artists and I think it looks pretty :3**

**(pretty sure you can find it on Google, if not Devientart has it somewhere XD  
><strong>

.


	3. Visiting the In Laws

It was starting to set in that Winry was actually married now, she had a husband, she was a wife. Hard to believe it was all real. Winry thought about this as she was in the kitchen cooking breakfast remembering her wedding and...the night before. Despite being their first time it was better than she thought it would be. Everyone had told her that it never is good the first time, but guess she got lucky. Thinking about it made her smile uncontrollably, she was just so much in love! She loved Ed so much, and was more than ready to spend the rest of her life with him. Imagining them sharing every day together, raising a family together, being the person he sees when he wakes up and the last person he sees when falling asleep...

But Winry was knocked out of her trance when there was a knock on the door, "The door's open!" Winry called.

"Mmmm something smells good" Ling came into the kitchen, his nose leading the way, Ran Fan was right behind him along with Mei and Alphonse walking in.

"Ling's right it smells great in here, Winry" Alphonse breathed in the different scents of food in the house.

"Well sit down there's plenty for everyone" Winry said slicing an apple,

"Where's Edward this morning anyway?" Mei asked smiling,

Winry blushed a little, "he wanted to take a quick shower before breakfast, he should be down in a few minutes" Winry was right as Ed came walking down the stairs, drying his hair with a towel and his body completely bare.

"Wow Winry that smells great, what are yo-?" Ed stopped in place noticing the four people sitting at his table wide eyed, except Mei who quickly covered them, his entire face turned beet red, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he screamed rushing upstairs. All of them were trying very hard to not burst out laughing, Winry had to take a couple of deep breaths to keep her from laughing hysterically.

"Looks like brother's already used to living with you, Winry" Al chuckled taking a sip from his juice. A few moments later Edward came back downstairs, this time in a shirt and pants and sat down at the table, a small blush still spread across his face.

"So I can see why you married him now, Winry" Ling said observing Edward.

"OH SHUT UP!" Ed yelled wanting to beat Ling to a pulp, "Aren't you an _Emperor_!? Shouldn't you be getting back to your _country_!?"

"Nope, I decided to take a little vacation from all my duties, and personally I find Resembool to be quite charming" Ling said with a wink.

"I thought I'd show them around, it's a beautiful day today so I thought we could go into town and see the sights" Alphonse explained taking a bite of food, "You two wanna join us?"

"Nah I'm still worn out from yesterday, I just wanna be a bum for today" Ed leaned back closing his eyes,

"I have a couple of orders to work on as well" Winry added.

"Suit yourselves" Alphonse said finishing his plate and standing up, "Are we all having stew tonight at Granny's?"

"Of course!"

"Mmmmmm I can smell it already, you can count me in" Ed breathed in still leaning back in the chair. After breakfast the group said their goodbyes and thank yous to them and left. Winry began to clear the plates and wash them in the sink. Surprisingly, Edward eventually got up to help.

"So what _do _you want to do today besides sit around doing nothing" Winry asked scrubbing a pan.

"I dunno, what do married couples do?" Edward said drying a plate, he grinned, "besides what we did last night..."

Winry scoffed and smacked him on the arm, "Well there is one thing I want to do today..."

* * *

><p>The young newlyweds held hands as they walked up the path to the place they both knew far too well. They passed many tombstones before the stopped in front of the site where Urey and Sara Rockbell were buried. Winry took a bouquet, split it in 2 and placed each half on her parents' graves, kneeling down in front of them,<p>

"I wish you two could have been there" Winry said looking down, "It was the best day of my life, I've never been so happy, the only problem was...you not being there..." she stopped as tears started forming in her eyes then slowly fell down her face, Edward knelt down next to her putting one arm around her for comfort, letting her rest her head on his shoulder quietly crying.

"You don't have to worry about a thing" Winry looked up, "I'll take care of her, I won't let anything happen to her...I promise" Edward looked back at Winry hugging her closer, she wiped her eyes smiling. They then proceeded to walk a little down the path to Trisha Elric and Van Hohenheim's graves. Edward took the bouquet he had and place it in front of Trisha's.

"She would have wanted to be there" Ed looked at his mother's grave solemnly.

"I bet he would have too" Winry held onto Ed's arm resting her head on his shoulder, "They both would have been proud of you"

"Really?"

"Really" Winry stood up on her tiptoes a kissed Ed on his cheek, giggling at his expression. With a sigh Ed bent down, took one flower from Trisha's bouquet and tossed it onto Hohenheim's grave. Then stood up with a small smile.

"We better get back home, I can smell the stew from here"

"Alright" Winry giggled holding his hand. The two began walking away from the site, Winry's head still resting on Ed's shoulder.

"I think I'm starting to get used to this whole 'being married thing'" Ed said as they strolled down the path together.

"I think I am too"

"Think we can do it?" Edward stopped in place still holding her hand and looking at her softly. Winry smiled and squeezed his hand looking up at him,

"We've handled harder situations before, this should be a piece of cake" they both laughed and continued down the path...together.


	4. She's What?

Winry looked out the window over the sink watching the water drops pour from the sky. This was the worst weather Resembool's had in years, the sky was a dark gray with clouds smothering it, and rain coming down so hard you could hear thumps on the roof. This had been going on for 2 days now, and Ed wasn't taking it well. Whenever the temperature dropped like this the area where he leg was removed causes him horrible pain, and these past couple of days was the worst he'd ever had, it hurt so bad he couldn't get out of bed, leaving Winry to take care of him. They had been married for a little over 3 months now so Winry had gotten used to the role of a wife, but she had to work double time during this stormy weather. She didn't mind though, she liked taking care of him, and she had to admit, his constant whining was kind of amusing.

"Feeling any better?" Winry walked into the bedroom holding a fresh towel warmed with hot water.

Ed was laying on the bed, his automail leg removed so all he had was his stump with the attachment on it resting on a pillow, his expression was of agony with one arm rested over his face. "I feel like hell, other than that, no complaints"

Winry smiled and sat on the bed next to him wrapping the towel around his stump, she then carefully examined it, before she's his wife, she's his mechanic, "How would you rate the pain from 1 to 10?"

"100" Winry scowled.

"If it get any worse we should probably remove the attachment, it would relieve some pressure on your stump"

"Great..." Ed groaned thinking about it.

"Don't be a baby it can't hurt that bad" Winry removed the towel once it got cool, "Just relax and try not to think about it"

"That's easier said that done, Winry" he sat up a little wincing, his eyes quickly opened when he felt squeezing on his thigh, realizing it was Winry rubbing and kneading the area above the automail attachment, "What are you doing?"

"It's a massage Mr. Garfiel taught me" Winry said continuing with her hands, "How does it feel?"

"It feels...amazing" Ed sighed leaning back onto his pillow letting Winry rub his leg, she continued this for a while until she patted it down and stopped.

"Need anything else?" Winry asked smiling at her husband's relaxed face,

"Well...there is one thing" Ed sat up a little grinning and stroking Winry's thigh,

"I thought you were so weak you couldn't move?", Winry smirked raising her eyebrow, "Aren't you still in a lot of pain?"

"It'll take my mind off of it" Ed grinned putting his arms around Winry and bringing her down to his level.

"Well if it's going to make you feel better..." Winry smiled laying on top of him. It started with gentle kissing then proceeded to more intense movement with Winry twisting her fingers in Ed's long hair lifting one of her knees to his waist. The couple continued to kiss, their bodies pressing closer, and closer, and closer together-

"Ouch!" Winry jerked back quickly, one hand on her breast area.

"What's wrong...are you okay?" Ed looked confused,

"No...they're just a little sore and...tender to touch, don't worry about it"

"Are you sure?" Ed was a little worried...

"Hey, what happened to your leg pain?" Winry looked at his stub smirking.

"Huh? Well what do ya know, it worked, you're a miracle worker Winry!" Ed grinned rubbing the back of his head, Winry only rolled her eyes and was about to get up until Ed pulled her down, "But it still hurts a little"

"Well...as your mechanic it's my job to make sure you're 100 percent well" the couple laughed and continued to where they left off...

* * *

><p>After days of awful weather and agony the sky had finally cleared over the rural town and the sun shined brighter than ever. Edward was chirpier than usual because of this, it felt good to be able to walk and move around again. As usual he could hear Winry hard at work up in the attic cutting metal for automail. He never understood the fascination and joy his wife found with mechanical limbs, but if it made her happy and kept her from bugging him all day he was fine with it. The sawing continued until Ed walked up the staircase and suddenly heard the machine stop, then loud footsteps coming from above. He was about to check it out when Winry came sprinting down the attic steps shoving past him into the bathroom and barely making the sink before violently heaving into it.<p>

"Winry!" Ed said rushing to her side, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine..." Winry spoke heavily breathing over the sink, "I just felt sick all of a sudden...a little dizzy too" she put her hand to her head.

"You coming down with something?"

Winry shook her head, "No, it's probably all the material I'm cutting" she turned on the faucet to rinse her mouth, "I should probably open a window up there"

But Ed wasn't convinced, Winry had been working with that stuff ever since she could operate a buzz saw and she never got sick before. She had been acting weird in general these past few weeks and he had no idea why, but she assured him that it was nothing and that she was fine. Ed grabbed a towel from the rack and handed it to her to wipe her mouth.

"Maybe I should call a doctor."

"You know you worry too much" Winry put a hand to him cheek smiling, "And for the last time, I'm telling you I'm absolut-" speaking too soon she quickly turned back to the sink.

* * *

><p>"There, that should do it" Alphonse wiped the sweat from his forehead, finishing the wood he was chopping out back. Ever since Ed and Winry got married Alphonse had been living in the Rockbell house with Pinako. Occasionally he'll go visit May in Xing or go see friends in Central but for the most part Resembool will always be his home and where he'll ultimately come back to.<p>

"I finished the wood, Granny" The young man came inside setting the ax down by the door.

"Thank you Alphonse, now go clean yourself up, Edward and Winry should be here any minute for lunch" the older woman smiled as she chopped the vegetables.

"Hey we're here!" Ed announced right on cue as he walked through the door with Winry behind him.

"Just in time, I've just got to throw these into the pot and we'll be ready to eat"

"Just crackers and water for me grandma" Winry slightly winced sitting down at the table, "I don't think my stomach can handle anything hearty today"

"Are you sick, Winry?" Al asked sitting across from her, "You do look a little pale"

Ed shook his head, "I keep telling her to go see a doctor but she's as stubborn as ever"

"It's really weird, one minute I'll be perfectly fine, then the next minute I'm puking like crazy"

"...really...?" Pinako grinned a little.

"I've also been so tired too, and then I get lightheaded when I get up too fast an-" Winry stopped and quickly got up and ran to the next room, her hand over her mouth, Pinako stopped what she was doing and followed her leaving the two brothers alone together.

"Winry's never been sick before brother, you think it's serious?"

"I don't know...I'm not a doctor."

"Well you should probably drag her to one as soon as possible"

"Yeah, I might have to-" Just then the two women came back into the room, Winry was looking at the floor, a slight blush on her face. "Are you okay Winry?"

"She's more than okay" Pinako smiled, "She's pregnant."

The faces the Elric brother's made matched perfectly with their jaws dropped and eyes the size of saucers, completely taken off guard from what Pinako said. They stood like that for a minute before Al spoke, "...Are you sure?"

The older woman nodded her head, "Positive, she has the same symptoms her mother had, she also hasn't had her cycle for a while so that proves it"

"That's great Winry! Congratulations!" Alphonse hugged Winry.

"Thanks Al..." Winry looked up and all three of them stared at Edward, who was still standing there. He looked like he had seen a ghost, "Ed...?"

Ed shook his head coming out of his trance "Y...Yeah?"

"You...heard what we said right?" Edward nodded his head slowly, his facial expression unchanged, it was like he had been petrified and was frozen in place, he finally blinked and walked over to Winry, looking at her closely before speaking,

"Y...you're gonna have a...a...baby?"

"_We're_ gonna have a baby..." she said still blushing, "...What do you think?"

"I...I...I..." Was all Ed could get out, he just looked at Winry then at his brother, Pinako, then Winry again still stuttering...before everything went black.

* * *

><p>"I think he's coming to"<p>

"Edward...?" Ed slowly opened his eyes and saw his wife anxiously looking over him, his head hurt like hell, "Good, you're alright"

"Ugh what happened?" Ed sat up holding the back of his head where it stung,

"You collapsed brother" Alphonse smiled standing besides Pinako, "Not every day you find out you're going to be a father I guess"

Ed's eyes shot open, "That's right..." he turned to Winry, "Y..you're..."

"Pregnant, Ed, pregnant" Winry said annoyingly while looking right at him.

"Y...yeah...that"

"Here have some water" Pinako handed him a glass which he took and drank in one gulp.

"Are you okay with this Ed?" Winry asked concerned, "You seem..."

"Wha...No...no I'm okay..." Ed smiled still stumbling, "I'm just a little shocked is all..heh...it's great!" He smiled but Winry wasn't buying his performance, she decided not to bring it up in front of everyone but knew inside he was freaking out...and she was right.


	5. Working it Out

**hank you all SOOOOOO much for reading and reviewing my story! I'm sooo glad you guys like it! This is the first time in YEARS I've actually written a series so I'm happy it's getting positive feedback! I'm also glad that you think I'm keeping Ed in character. Truth is, I'm used to writing real fluffy lovey-dovey couples...and Ed isn't exactly the romantic type(I mean look how he proposed to Winry! lol) So seriously, writing all these love scenes AND keeping Ed in character is a REAL challenge for me! lol  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Winry had been spending the entire morning upstairs in her workspace sawing, screwing, and hammering automail together. As odd as it seemed, the sound of a buzz saw was practically theraputic for Winry at this point, and she could sit in her workshop all day without breaks. As much as Ed got onto her for being a "gearhead" the truth was, she used automail as a stress reliever. Back when she was a kid if she started worrying about Edward and Alphonse on their journey she'd go to her workbench and start sketching new designs. When the brothers first left Resembool Winry had build 5 different limbs for customers that hadn't even existed yet, simply because it was a distraction. There was a reason why she'd become such an expert over the years, there was a lot to worry about. Of course she never told Ed or Al this, she didn't want them to think they were causing her to worry, but those brothers, especially Ed these past few days, were her biggest stress inducers.<p>

She had just stopped hammering for a second when there was a knock on the door,

"Coming!" Winry wiped her forehead and rushed downstairs to answer the door, and much to her surprise it was Alphonse. "Hey Al, what are you doing here?"

The younger Elric brother was let in and took off his coat, "I just thought I'd come by and see how everything was going, were you busy?"

"Oh no, I was about to take a break actually" Winry went into the kitchen and got out the kettle to make tea.

"Where's Ed?" Alphonse asked taking a seat at the table.

"Who knows, he said he was going out this morning, didn't say where" Winry let the kettle come to a boil then took it off the stove and poured it into two mugs, bringing them to the table and sitting down with her brother in law.

"How are you feeling?"

"A little better, I'm still getting sick all the time. Whoever called this 'morning sickness' clearly had never been pregnant before. " The two sat at the table for a couple of minutes without saying a word, Al could sense Winry's hesitation, that something was bothering her. Then Winry spoke again, "Hey Al.. have you talked to Ed lately?"

"No, why is something wrong?"

"Well...yeah" Winry quietly sat her mug down with a solemn look on her face, "He's not happy about the baby"

"What? But I thought he-?"

"I know him, he's been really distant lately, really quiet...and he hasn't been sleeping"

"How do you know?"

"When I get sick in the middle of the night I have to get up and...let's just say he's not a good actor" Winry sighed, "he won't talk to me about it, he says everything's fine, but I know it isn't!" She was looking down at her mug and tears started forming in her eyes.

"D-Don't cry Winry, it's okay." Al tried comforting Winry the best he could.

"Sorry, it's these pregnancy hormones, making me all emotional." Winry smiled wiping her eyes, "What I'm trying to say is...could you maybe talk to him?"

"What would I say?"

"Ugh I don't know Al you're the only person he even remotely opens up to!" Winry shook her head with one hand on her forehead, "And here I thought things would be different now..."

"Well he's still new at this remember?" Alphonse smiled a little taking her hand, "But if you want I'll go talk to him"

* * *

><p>The question was <em>where<em> to find him. The two brothers had been practically joined at the hip since childhood but the older they got the more independent they became and going on their own adventures. When Alphonse was traveling in the East and Edward in the West, it felt weird not waking up to each other every morning. To tell the truth, it was lonely sometimes, especially for Al, but as time went on, the loneliness faded. It's not that they had grown apart, they just had different chapters opening up for both of them. They no longer had to walk down the same path, but can start their own lives, separately.

Al decided to walk into town on his search, he had to run some errands anyway. While he was strolling through the shops, stopping every now and then to look at a shop window, he found his brother, inside the local bar. Edward had been sitting at the bar all day staring at his half glass of whiskey for hours, he thought about Winry, and...their child. It made him twitch a little thinking about it, it wasn't that he didn't want to have a family, he just didn't think it would happen so fast, and now that it was happening...he was freaking out. They had just gotten married! Now there was going to be a baby involved! What did he know about raising a kid? What if it wasn't healthy? What if something were to happen to Winry? But Ed was so wrapped up in his thoughts he didn't even notice his brother sitting down next to him, but got out of his trance when he heard him decline a drink.

"Al...what are you doing here?"

"Looking for you actually" Alphonse leaned against the bar, "since when do you drink?"

"Since I've got a lot on my mind!" Ed defensively responded taking a swig from his glass,

"Whoa touchy today aren't we?"

"Sorry Al...I'm just not in a talking mood"

"Winry told me you've been like that all week"

Ed looked up, "...You talked to Winry?"

"Yeah" the younger brother looked straight ahead, "She says you're not happy about the baby"

"Wha? That's not true-!"

"You're a terrible liar, brother" Ed knew he was defeated.

"It's not that I'm unhappy about the baby..." Edward looked down turning the glass in his hand, "I just...I don't know how to be a parent...mom died when we were still young and our own father wasn't a very good example."

"That doesn't mean you can't be a good parent"

"You don't understand Al...this is a human life we're talking about, what if I mess up or something goes wrong or I can't take care of it?"

Al turned his head, "Ed, if you feel this way, why don't you talk to your _wife _about it?"

Edward sighed in response, "She's been through enough this week...I don't want to upset her-"

"You're just upsetting her more by not talking about it!" Alphonse stopped his brother looking at him in the eye, "Go talk to her, now."

Edward sat for a few moments, causing Alphonse was a little worried at what his brother was thinking. But then Ed downed his drink and stood up,

"You're right Al" he left some change on the bar table and walked to the exit, stopping himself at the door, he turned and grinned a little at his brother, "You know...you're going to make a great uncle"

"Heh, didn't really think about that" Al rubbed the back of his head a little chuckling as Ed left, he sat there a little proud of himself, "I think I'll have that drink after all"

* * *

><p>Edward walked down the small road of shops with his hands in his pockets, thinking about what to say to Winry when he got home. He looked up and could see small children running in the grass, giggling and playing, he also saw a father carrying his daughter on his shoulder, laughing together. This actually made Ed smile a little, then he turned and noticed a small cart selling sunflowers, remembering that Winry loved those. Edward decided to splurge a little and bought half a dozen, maybe it would make the talk a little easier...and he'd be less likely to get a wrench to his head. The sun was just starting to set when Ed reached his small home on the hill, he took a deep breath before opening the door, Winry was in the kitchen chopping vegetables for dinner, she turned her head towards him when he entered.<p>

"Edward...I was getting worried"

"Sorry, I wasn't keeping track of the time...here" Ed looked down handing Winry the bouquet.

Winry blinked confused, "You...bought me flowers?"

"What? Can't a guy do something nice for his wife every once in a while?"

"Well yeah...you've just never been the romantic type" Winry brought the flowers to her face and lightly sniffed them, "they're beautiful, thank you."

They both stood in silence for a moment before Ed spoke up, "Winry...we need to talk" Winry gently placed the flowers on the table and walked over the sofa, sitting down next to him.

"I'm listening"

Ed stiffened a little, and took as deep of a breath as he could, "I know I haven't been acting like myself these past few days...but it's not your fault or the baby's fault..." Winry continued listening to what he had to say, he lifted his head up so they could see eye to eye, "I just...I'm..scared."

"Oh, Ed-"

"Let me finish." He took another breath, "What I'm trying to say is...I don't know if I'm actually capable of taking care of...another person. It was always just me and Al growing up and...well I guess I just got used to only taking care of myself."

Winry looked at her husband for a few seconds, then took a deep sigh, "You really are an idiot"

"What!?"

"Seriously...You don't think I'm scared too?!" Winry took both Ed's hands in hers looking right at him, "You know you're not the only one having a baby here Edward! I lost my parents when I was a kid too! You don't think that more than anything I wish they were here? Just so I'd have the slightest clue what to do?!"

"Winry..."

"Thing is Ed...we're both clueless about this...and we're probably going to mess up at least one but, that's why we have to learn...together" Winry scooted closer towards Edward still gripping onto his hands, "When we got married, we agreed to support one another, if we're going to make this work then we need to be open and honest with each other. If something is bothering you...I want you to tell me about it so we can work it out, likewise with me, understand?"

Edward kind of stared at Winry for a few moments taking in what she said, he sighed a little looking down at his hands in hers, "I'm sorry Winry...I'm just not used to this"

Winry smiled softly, "Well we have lots of time for you to practice, I want to be the one you can turn to, and I want to know that I can do the same to you" Ed didn't even say anything, he just moved forward and brought her into a hug, one hand on the back of her head, the other on her back, she didn't speak either, just wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder. They stayed like that for a long time, completely silent.

After a few minutes they pulled apart, looking at each other solemnly. Edward looking at at Winry's lower half, contemplating for moment before he slowly lifted his hand, he gently placed it right below Winry's belly button,

"I'm going to take care of you...and the baby...I won't let anything happen to either one of you"

"Promise?" Winry wrapped her arms around his neck smiling.

"I Promise" Ed gently pecked his wife's forehead then rested his against it


	6. A Mouse in the House

Winry loved mornings like this. Where it wasn't too hot, or too cold, the room glowing in new sunlight, and the pleasant sound of birds chirping outside her window. Winry laid in her bed just waking up feeling better than she had felt in weeks, now that her morning sickness had finally calmed down. It made her smile thinking just how lucky she was. She had a beautiful home, a fulfilling career, loving family, and a wonderful husband...at least most of the time. Thinking about him, Winry reached her arm over hoping he would be in the mood to cuddle with her for a bit, but she noticed the spot next to her on the bed was empty.

Winry immediately sat up, strange, Ed never woke up before she did, "Edward?" she looked around the room but he was nowhere in sight. She decided to just get up, throw on some sweat pants(the only thing that fit her at the moment), a simple tank top, then pulled her hair back in a ponytail and went downstairs. She got to the bottom of the steps when she noticed Ed standing in front of the stove, carefully keeping an eye on the sausage he had in the pan.

"Are you cooking?" Winry made him jump a little as she entered the kitchen.

"I was hungry and I didn't want to wake you up" Ed said still concentrating on the pan, "what will you be having?"

Winry sat down at the table and shook her head, "I'm still getting a little nausea in the morning, I think I'll just have a glass of juice"

"You have to eat something Winry, it's not good for you or the baby" Ed set down a plate of bread with butter in front of her, "at least eat this" Winry pouted and ate one slice of bread just to humor him, she then got up and started towards the stairs,

"Where are you going?"

"I have to finish a couple of arms and ship them out to Rush Valley before five, I'll probably be up there all day" Winry stretched and started up the steps before she felt Ed's hand grab her arm, "What are you doing...?"

"You're going up in the attic...?"

"Well duh, that's my workspace"

"But...it's so dusty in there, is it healthy for you to be breathing all that in?"

"I just dusted yesterday, and I'll keep the window open" Winry tried moving but was once again pulled back.

"But the steps up there aren't very stable and they're kind of steep, what if you trip?"

"Edward, I've never tripped"

"I just don't think you should be working and slaving over automail in your condition!"

"Excuse me?" Winry managed to get her arm out of his grasp and put her hands on her hips, "What do you think is paying for all that food you're burning?" Ed quickly turned around realizing his sausage was in fact smoking, he quickly ran to the stove and shut the burner off, relieved that he didn't set the house on fire. He looked back at Winry and noticed her giggling with one hand over her mouth, his face turned a shade of red and looked away, his wife then walked over and placed one hand on his cheek smiling,

"You know, you're cute when you worry" Winry patted Ed's cheek and walked back to the staircase this time got up them without him trying to stop her. Edward took the sausage off the pan and took a bite, a little crunchy but not bad. He finished his plate and started to rinse it when,

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Came a scream from upstairs.

_Winry_! Ed dropped his plate into the sink, almost breaking it in the process, and quickly ran upstairs in almost a split second to the attic thinking the worst. Instead he saw Winry sitting on top of her workbench with her knees curled up against her, a look of terror on her face.

"What's wrong?" Ed asked panicked.

"Th...Th...Th..." Winry stuttered still frozen with fright.

"What? Winry what is it!"

"Th...there...there's a mouse! U...up here! I just saw it scurrying across the floor!" she blurted out pulling her knees closer to her body.

Ed's shoulders dropped, a sigh of relief came across him...but a wind of annoyance quickly came after "All that screaming over a mouse? Man you're such a fraidy cat"

Winry blushed a little, "Just get it out of here!"

"Where is it?" Ed sighed.

"It went behind those boxes!" Winry pointed towards to corner of the room where a stack of cardboard boxes resided. Edward walked over to the boxes where the vermin was hiding, he moved one of them to see better, when the small creature quickly ran out from under it running in between Ed's legs causing him to yelp in shock and quickly run over to where Winry was sitting.

"Who's the fraidy cat now?" Winry teased with a small grin across her face.

"I...it got me by surprise okay?" Edward brushed it off a little irritated, "Look it's your work space, you get rid of it."

Winry crossed her arms, her mouth gaping open, "You would make your _pregnant _wife chase and touch a wild mouse possibly ridden with disease?"

"Okay I have a better idea, let's try catching it together" Edward suggested, Winry raised one of her eyebrows and stuck her hand out,

"Deal" They shook hands on it and began to assess the situation. Edward looked around and found a burlap sack on the floor, he picked it up and dumped out the various bolts and scrap metal from it, then handed it to Winry.

"Here, we'll catch the mouse in this" Winry took the bag wondering what Ed's plan was, he walked over to the other corner where the mouse had ran off behind a small sofa Winry had, "I'll move this and try to scare it, then you take the sack and catch it okay?

Winry's eyes shot open at his suggestion, she took a deep breath, "Okay" Edward carefully tip toed over to the sofa, then slowly moved it causing the mouse to scurry towards Winry, she almost screamed but managed to get on her knees and scoop up the creature into the bag, a huge smile came to her face,

"I got it!" Winry cheered standing up with the bag in her hand, Ed shook his head and walked over, they both looked inside the bag noticing the mouse trying to get out, it was just a small gray field mouse, no bigger than 5 inches long.

"Wow, you freaked out over this?" Edward scoffed.

"Hey look who's talking!" Winry nudged Ed smirking, she handed the bag to him and he proceeded to go outside and let it free. She had to admit, it was kind of fun working together to solve a problem, like they were finally working together as a couple. Ed would be the first to admit he had a bad habit of wanting to do everything on his own, and Winry would be lying if she said she didn't feel the same way sometimes. However, now that they were married, and _especially _now that they'd be raising a child together, they've both realized that working as a team is what's going to keep them both steady.

As Winry began cleaning up her workbench sorting all the parts that had been spread around, she suddenly felt a strange rubbing in her midsection. Winry looked down at her now slightly protruding abdomen, then it happened again. She could actually see her baby bump moving in front of her eyes!

"Ed...Ed!...Edward!" Winry put a hand on herself.

"Don't tell me there's another mouse up there!" Ed whined from downstairs closing the front door.

"No, it's the baby!" Ed's footsteps suddenly turned loud and fast as he raced back up the stairs, his face slightly pale.

"What's wrong with the baby!?"

"Nothing, get over here!" Winry grabbed Ed's arm and put his hand on her belly hoping it would happen again, they stood like that for a few moments. Ed was very confused until he felt Winry's stomach move causing him to jerk back in shock.

"What the heck was that!?"

"The baby's moving around!" Winry giggled.

"...it can do that?"

"Of course it can. Ah, it's doing it again!" Winry jumped a little in excitement, Edward hesitated a little but put his hand back on her and felt it move across his hand again, his eyes bugged out just as much as Winry's did, but he was completely mesmerized in the movement.

"Whoa..."

Winry laughed, "Is that really all you can say?"

"What? It's an amazing thing, like a little miracle inside of you"

"I wouldn't call it a miracle..I'm not the first woman in the world to have a baby you know."

"That doesn't make it any less awesome" Ed took his hand off of Winry's stomach and held her hands in his, "I know it may not seem that way...but I'm actually pretty excited now"

"Me too" Winry moved in closer to him, "Does that mean you're not scared anymore?"

"I'm terrified" Ed scoffed playfully, "But...it's something we'll learn to work through...together right?"

Winry smiled, "Right"


	7. Late Night

Edward yawned and stretched his arms over his head as he walked down the dirt path, the moon shining brilliantly in the dark sky. It had been a while since he just went out to spend time with some guys, drinking and telling stories. Although he protested at first, Winry insisted he go while she stay home, she had a couple of projects to work on and with her even larger belly, moving around and going out wasn't something she felt like doing. Although he did want her to come, Ed had it admit, it felt nice to get out of the house for a while. It seemed like the past few months had been filled with nothing but 'baby this' and 'baby that'. Ed was excited to be a father and he couldn't wait for the baby to come, but having to deal with getting ready for it; setting up the nursery, buying all these new things, people constantly asking questions, and Winry's growing discomfort, it was becoming a little overwhelming. Going out and having conversations _not _having to do with babies was a bit of a relief for him. But at the end of the day he was happy to come home to his loving wife and spend time with her, and especially bask in the wonderful dinner he could smell as he entered-

"Hey Winry I'm – GAH!" Ed immediately recognized the feeling of a metal wrench hurled at his head as soon as he walked through the door. He ended up on the floor with one hand to his pulsing forehead and looked up to see his wife standing a few feet away from him, her arms crossed and looking absolutely steamed.

"Winry, what the hell!? I barely walk through the door and you try to kill me!" Ed yelled in pain.

"You idiot! Do you have any idea what time it is?!" Winry yelled back scowling.

Ed looked over at the old clock on the wall: eight forty-five, "What about it?"

Winry's face grew even redder, "You said you'd be home by eight! I spent this whole time worried sick about you!"

That's what she was upset about!? Ed stood up patting the dirt off his back, closing the door behind him, "Sorry, we took longer than I thought."

"Well you should have called!"

"Geez Winry I just went into town it's not like I left the country!"

"That's not the point Edward!" Winry stormed up to Ed now less that a foot of space between them, "It's high time you learned to take a little responsibility! Especially now that we have a _child _on the way! What if something _did _happen to you! Do you even care! Do you want our baby to grow up without a father!?"

Now it was Ed's turn to get mad, "Damn it Winry of course I care!" hist fists started clenching up, "How could you even say that!?"

"Well you just have a pretty funny way of –aah!" Winry stopped mid-sentence wincing and holding her midsection in pain.

"Winry!" All ounce of anger left Ed's body now replaced with worry, "Are you alright? What's wrong?"

Winry gently breathed out, "It's okay, I think the baby just wants us to stop fighting" she half smiled. Ed helped her to the sofa to lay down, he sat down next to her still concerned.

"Is it still going at it?"

"A little, it's calmed down somewhat but it's still jabbing at me...feel it"

Edward put his hand next to Winry's on her belly waiting for movement, he felt the jabbing Winry was talking about. He gently pushed down on the protruding bump causing the baby to kick harder in another spot, a few punches even appeared a couple times.

"Whoa, we got a little fighter here." Ed grinned excitedly.

"Edward..." Winry said warning, he knew how she felt about fighting.

"Sorry, you know what I mean though" Winry gave a small smile, she knew he wasn't serious but she still didn't want her children to be influenced. Winry's only hope is that her children will be able to grow up like normal children, not having to go through what their parents had to. It worried her every time Ed and Al had to fight something because nine times out of ten Ed would end up hurt and/or needing his automail repaired. She's never told Ed or Al but every time they had to part ways or Ed had to leave her, she often thought she would never see him again. Maybe that's why she became more worried than usually when Ed was forty-five minutes late, who knows what could happen to him.

"What are you thinking about?" Edward looked over and Winry concerned with the solemn look on her face like something was wrong.

"Nothing...just thinking to myself" Winry rested her head against Ed's shoulder and started tearing up, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said those things to you and gotten so upset...I've just been so irritable lately"

"It's alright, I understand" Ed took her hand and squeezed it, "Though you were sort of right, we should be more responsible and take care of ourselves...I would never, ever, want my child to have the childhood I had."

Winry wiped her eyes smiling, "You know...I think you'll be a great father"

"You really think so?"

"I know so" Winry felt Ed lean back into the sofa cushion, he closed his eyes for a moment, then looked back at her.

"So what do you think he...or she will be like?" he asked.

Winry shrugged, "I dunno, there's no way of knowing until its born. It could look like me, or it could look like you, or maybe it'll look like both of us. As long as our baby's healthy I don't really care." A sly grin then suddenly came across her face, "I just hope it isn't short like you..."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!?"


	8. And Then There Were Three

**Time: 8:15 PM**

"Okay we got towels, blankets, boiling water, rubbing alcohol...do we need anything else?" Edward asked rapidly, setting the supplies down on the floor in a neat fashion.

"Hmm...no I think that's all we need." Pinako replied double checking the stock.

"A-Are you sure? I don't want to forget anything."

The older woman chuckled, "No Ed I'm sure, and if we realize we need anything else then we'll get it".

"Well is there anything I could do-?"

"Edward," Winry spoke up, "just come sit next to me will you?" She patted the spot next to her on their bed where she was sitting in a reclined position. Ed gave a nod and did what he was told, taking one of his wife's hands in his, his mind filled with concern.

"Are you okay?"

Winry laughed, "I told you I'm fine" She smiled at him stroking his arm, "You need to relaaaaaaahh!" she didn't even finish her sentence before a strong contraction came, one hand moving to her abdomen and the other tightening its grip on Ed's, her face scrunched up in pain. Ed hated when that happened. He didn't know what to do so he just sat there quietly smoothing out the back of her head with his hand. Finally she took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, indicating that it was over.

"That was a bad one" Winry sighed with one arm over her face.

"heh...think it's any worse than automail attaching?" Ed joked cautiously. Winry lifted her arm above her head with a slight annoyed look on her face,

"I don't think you can really compare attaching mechanical limbs to squeezing a human being out of you."

Ed winced at the thought of it, Pinako at the end of the bed smiled and shook her head softly.

"Well it shouldn't be much longer now, Winry" The older woman said accordingly, "I remember when you were born your mother was only in labor for about 5 hours."

"Well that's good." Ed smiled feeling a little relief.

"...on the other hand, Edward took about 15." Winry nearly fainted.

**Time: 11:28 PM**

Edward sighed as he walked upstairs with more ice chips. Who knew childbirth would take so long? Although he wanted Winry to just have the baby already, he was also feeling hesitant. He wondered how his mom felt when she had him, or when she had Al. Did their father feel the same way he did now? Obviously Hohenheim wasn't the first person to turn to for parenting advice, but it would be nice to have an opinion and some kind of encouragement on the matter. On cue the hall phone began to ring. Ed set the bowl down on the end table next to it and picked up the phone, who would be calling this late?

"Hello?" Ed answered.

"Hey brother, is the baby here yet?" Alphonse's voice came from the other line

Ed chuckled, "Sorry Al, not yet, the pains are getting worse but Granny says it still may be a few hours."

"That stinks, well tell Winry I'm rooting for her over here in Xing."

"Speaking of which Alphonse...what time is it over there? Shouldn't you be asleep?"

The younger Elric laughed, "Actually it's morning over here, May and I just got up and we're about to go out to do some training." Ed will never understand how time zones work.

"Well I'll let you go then, I gotta get back Winry anyway"

"Okay brother, call me as soon as the baby's born okay?"

"Will do, bye" Ed hung up the phone, picked up the bowl and proceeded back to the bedroom, where he found his wife walking in circles around the room, like a lion in a cage.

"...what are you doing? Ed asked confused.

"This is supposed to help the baby come faster...so I figured why not?" Winry explained pacing while breathing slowly, Ed looked over at Pinako who just smiled.

"Well I brought you more ice" Ed took a piece and gently place it in Winry's mouth as she stood in front of him.

"Thank you" Winry said munching the cold treat in her mouth, allowing her mouth to regain some moisture.

"Do you want to lay down now?"

Winry shoot her head, "No, I don't mind standing, in fact I think this is helpin-gah!" she stopped and leaned forward gripping Ed's forearms with all her might, "...Edward..."

"Y...yes?"

"Get me back in that bed." She growled in pain.

**Time: 3:07 AM**

Winry was starting to get restless, she had never been in so much pain in her entire life, it was completely unbearable. She had heard stories from other women and read many books on the matter, but she didn't think giving birth would be _this_ bad. Every few minutes it was as if something was tearing her up inside, a few times it even caused her to yell. Going through this she began wondering if her mother felt this way, not just physically but emotionally. Winry was ready to have this baby, she couldn't wait to have her child in her arms, doing all the things you get to do as a parent, and watching them grow up. But a part of her felt a little uncertain. Would she be a good mother? Will her child grow up happy? These thoughts went through her head the whole pregnancy, but to keep her husband sane and calm she mostly kept them to herself. Turning over she looked at him. He smiled at her softly holding her hand. Winry could sense the worry he had but she could also sense that he was excited, she knew he was going to be a good father.

But of course the peaceful moment didn't last long, "Owww..." Winry moaned squeezing Ed's hand again as the pain rushed through her. Reaching over, Ed grabbed the damp washcloth on the end table, drenched it in the bowl of water next to it, wrung it out, and gently wiped the sweat from his wife's forehead like he was told to do. He hated seeing her like this, and the fact that there was nothing he could do to help her made it even worse. All he could do was watch.

"Thanks" Winry breathed smiling a little.

"Heh...no problem. Ed replied smiling as well, just when he thought the worse was over Winry tensed up again, the look of agony on her face. He looked over at Pinako,"Isn't there _something_ we can do?"

"I'm afraid not" She replied sadly, "I know it's hard but this is just how it is, all we can do is wait and try to make her comfortable."

"If it's any consolation...you're doing a good job" Winry smiled

"Is there anything else you need?"

She shook her head, "I'm fine...are _you_ okay?"

"What me?" Ed scoffed, "I'm great, totally calm and at ease."

"You're lying" Winry smirked.

"No I'm not!"

"Oh please I know inside you're a nervous wreck."

Ed bowed his head in defeat, "You're lucky I'm not in the mood to argue right now."

Winry began to laugh until _another _contraction came, leaving her completely immobilized, "Well...you're lucky I'm not blaming you for all this..."

**Time: 6:45 AM**

Ed was about to reach his breaking point. Winry had started pushing almost half an hour ago, and not much progress had been made. He couldn't stand watching her like this, drenched in sweat and in so much pain that she was screaming. He looked down at his right hand holding hers, while Ed was significantly stronger than Winry...she had quite a grip, turning his hand a faint red color. He felt completely helpless, like there was nothing he could do to help ease the pain and make it easier. Ed wished he were still able to use alchemy, though it would be pointless since alchemy can't be used to relieve pain, it would allow him to do _something_.

Winry stopped pushing and relaxed her body, lightly panting, "Oh man...is it out yet?"

"Afraid not..." Pinako said, "The baby's still inside you."

"Oh Come ON!" She shouted irritated, "This kid's got your stubbornness!"

"Hey! I'm not that stubborn and you shouldn't be talking!" Ed retorted back.

"Really!? You're seriously going to start with me NOW?" Winry glared, her teeth gritting.

"N-No dear!" Ed said frightened, hoping to not get punched in the face.

"Alright you two stop fooling around, try pushing again Winry" Pinako directed and once again Winry tensed up, loud moaning came from her mouth and beads of perspiration ran down her face, "Alright the head is coming out..." Edward didn't dare try to look down there, he was afraid of what he might see...and worried it would scar him for life. Instead he chose to stay with his wife and her upper-half.

Suddenly Winry stopped pushing, "I can't do this...it hurts...too much...too...tired...I quit" she cried breathing heavily.

"Come on Winry, one more push and it'll be out" Pinako tried to reassure her, but to no avail. Winry shook her head, still panting. Then the older woman looked directly at Edward. He was taken back a little at the look she gave him, but he knew what she wanted was for him to help. He knew he had to do something.

"Like granny said...just one more? You can do it Winry" Ed said trying to convince his uncomfortable wife.

"I told you I can't..." she whimpered shaking her head again, "I'm just not strong enough...:"

Ed sat up straight, holding Winry's shoulders and looking her right in the eyes, "You can Winry...I know you can...you're one of the strongest people I know...and you can do anything..."

Winry stared at his face for a few moments, finally nodding her head, "...I...can do this..."

"That's what I like to hear" Pinako smiled, "Okay...one more big push..."

Winry took a deep breath, tightened the grip on her husband's hand, and pushed, putting every last bit of strength she had left in it. Ed carefully concentrated on her, watching her face, gently rubbing her back, every second felt like a year, he couldn't take it. Winry screamed once more...and then went completely limp, falling back onto the pile of pillows behind her. For what seemed like an eternity she didn't move, making Ed fear something was wrong.

Then he heard a soft cry. Ed saw Winry crack her eyes open slightly, he slowly turned his head towards Pinako...

"Well congratulations..."Pinako said cleaning off the infant, "...it's a boy."

Ed's face lit up, almost a look of disbelief...but then a huge smile spread across his face, "A..a boy..." he turned to his wife excited, "We...we have a boy!"

"I know, I heard Edward" Winry replied smiling tiredly.

"He looks very healthy...a good size too" Pinako said again, wrapping him up in a blanket, then walked over to Ed with him in her arms, "Would you like to hold your son, Ed?"

Edward hesitated for a moment..."Y...yeah" he gently held his arms out and Pinako handed off the newborn to him, instructing him to support the head and staying still. Ed looked down at his son, mostly shocked at how light he was. The infant had stopped crying and was down to just a small whimper, he could stare at him for hours, it was an amazing feeling, holding something that _you _created, not from alchemy, but from your own life.

"Ed?" Winry spoke, Edward looked over and could see that Winry wanted to hold their son as well. He sat down on the bed next to her and just like Pinako, gently handed him over to Winry. She held the newborn as if she'd been doing it her whole life, gently stroking his face with her finger, and shushing his whimpering down to silence.

"Hello little boy..." Winry whispered to the infant in her arms, taking in every detail of his body, she smiled looking up at Ed, "He looks like you."

"Really?" Edward looked at the baby again, he did have some resemblance to him. Despite being only a few minutes old he had quite a head of hair already, the exact same golden blonde color as him.

"So what's his name?" asked Pinako as she started cleaning up.

The couple's faces dropped, pure horror on Winry's face, "Oh my Gosh...! We didn't think of names!"

"I thought we forgot something..."

"What do we do!"

Ed placed his hand on her shoulder calming her down, "We'll just think of one now...anything in mind?"

"No..." Winry replied sadly. They both thought for a few minutes until Pinako spoke up again.

"If I may make a suggestion..." She began, "When Winry's parents were having her, they picked out a name for a boy and a girl"

"Really? What were they?" Ed asked.

"Well obviously they chose Winry for a girl...but for a boy...they chose Samuel."

Winry thought for a minute, "Samuel...I like that." she looked down at her son then back at Edward, "What do you think?"

"Samuel Elric..." Ed said it out loud, "...yeah...he looks like a Sam to me"

"Well then it's settled" Winry smiled, "It also makes me feel good knowing that my parents like the name."

"Well them my work is done" Pinako smiled, "oh, and happy anniversary you two" she chuckled before going out the door leaving only 3 bodies in the room. The couple looked blank for a moment, Ed looked over at the calender of the wall, sure enough, it was his and Winry's 1 year anniversary of being married.

"Well what do you know..." Ed laughed softly, "He really is special isn't he?"

"He sure is" Winry looked up from her child, "Our little miracle right?" she smiled at Ed resting on his shoulder.

Ed smiled touching his head with hers, "Yeah, definitely..."

* * *

><p><strong>QUICK FACT: I wrote part of this chapter on an airplane! ^W^<strong>


	9. Rekindling

"Winryyyyyy" Edward moaned in response to a loud cry from across the room.

"I got up last time..it's your turn" Winry sleepily groaned back, her face pressed into her pillow. Edward tossed the covers off his body and groggily got up, slowly making his way to the crib set up along the wall of their bedroom where Sammy was wailing for one of his parents' attention. This was the third time that night he's been woken up...and probably the thousandth time in the past two months.

"Alright, alright I'm here now" Ed gently lifted the infant into his arms and slowly rocked him, but the child continued to cry with all his might. Ed started pacing the room when he saw Winry walk over, offering her assistance.

"Let me have him" She said gently, Ed handed the baby over who continued to wail.

"Kid's got a set of lungs" Ed said wincing,

"Must get it from his father" Winry sat down in the rocking chair, slowly gliding with soothing whispers coming out of her mouth, enough to bring the crying down to a whine. "there we go...at least he's not screaming anymore"

"You think he's hungry?"

Winry shook her head, "I fed him an hour ago, and his diaper's fine."

"Well what's wrong with him?"

"How should I know?" Winry said exasperated, "Maybe he just can't sleep."

"What if you tried singing to him?"

"I'm too tired to sing Ed..."

"Well you can try..."

"Well then why don't you-!?" Winry paused when she gently stuck her fingertip into Sammy's mouth and felt a small bump, "Oh I see what it is...Sammy's growing his first tooth..."

"That's it?" Ed asked confused.

"Well how would you feel if a sharp bone was tearing through your sensitive, swollen, gums?" Edward felt pain in his mouth just picturing it, "Go to the bathroom and get a cold wet washcloth will you?"

Ed did as he was told a came back a minute later with a damp cloth, Winry took it from him and gently placed it into the still crying baby's mouth, who started to slowly gnaw on it causing his crying to stop.

"There now, that feel much better doesn't it?" Winry cooed rocking in the chair until the baby calmed down focused on the cloth soothing his sore gums. Edward stood over them amazed at how good Winry was at this. She always had a nurturing side and a level head, she made this parenting stuff look easy. When Ed tried to soothe their son it seemed like he only cried louder, and put in an even _worse _mood. A lot of people told him that it was alright at first, and that mothers tended to just have a better knack of it than fathers, but Ed still felt like he wasn't doing much.

"Winry...thank you."

The restless mother looked up at her equally tired husband, "What for?"

"For just, being here."

Winry smirked, "You're so weird."

"You love it," Ed remarked in a slight tease, "Think he's okay now?"

Winry continued to rock the boy, "Yeah, we're just going to have to be careful with his mouth from now on...you can go back to bed if you want."

"You're not coming?"

"No, I think I'll stay up a little longer with him, make sure he's okay" Edward nodded and turned to go back to bed, he stood for a moment thinking then turned back around, changing his mind.

"I'll stay with you, it wouldn't be fair to make you-Winry?" Ed looked at his wife only to realize she had fallen asleep in the chair, Sammy still in her arms. He smiled and took the sleeping baby out of her arms and placed him back in the crib, then without disturbing her, he gently lifted Winry in his arms and carried her back to bed, laying her down and placing the blanket over her, not waking her up. Kissing her on the forehead, he got back into bed. But just when his eyes closed, he heard Sammy whining again. Ed was about to shake Winry to get her up, but instead he went to the crib himseld and picked Sammy up, grabbing the still damp washcloth and holding it in his mouth like Winry did. Sammy quietly stopped and chewed peacefully, relieving his pain.

"Well, I guess this is parenthood." Ed sighed closing his eyes.

* * *

><p>"We're here!" Alphonse called out entering the Elric home, a brown suitcase in one hand, and Mei's hand in the other.<p>

"Glad to see you both made it" Edward came down the staircase to greet them, hugging his brother "We've definitely missed you here"

"Yeah, Xing is such a beautiful and amazing country, but I think I'm always gonna favor the good ol' simplicity of Resembool" The younger brother set his luggage down by the door, "But I didn't come here to admire the scenery, where's my new nephew?"

"Right here" Winry came over holding Sammy in her arms, "Finally meeting his Uncle".

"Hey there little guy,"Al happily took Sam and held him in front of him,"You were right Winry, he does look like Ed."

"Yeah everyone says that." Ed sighed standing next to his wife.

"Although he has your eyes, Winry" Mei played with Sammy's finger noticing his big ocean blue eyes that matched perfectly with Winry's.

"Trust me though, he takes after his father" Winry crossed her arms, "_especially_ when he's hungry"

"I can believe that" Alphonse laughed, it was then that he noticed the fatigue in his brother and sister-in-law, especially his brother's blood-shot eyes, "You two okay? You look exhausted."

They both laughed nervously, "Well Sammy's not much of a heavy sleeper" Winry yawned, "We're lucky if we can get more than 4 hours of sleep a night."

"Frankly he's a 24 hour job, and it's not easy" Edward added, "Feeding him, changing him, giving him attention, and I thought teacher's alchemy lessons were hard."

Alphonse and Mei looked at each other, then nodded, "You know what you two need?" Alphonse smirked, "A night off."

"huh?" The new parents said confused.

"You both need to get out of here for a while, we'll watch Sammy and you can spend some time together, alone" Mei smiled taking the baby in her arms, bouncing him.

"Oh, we can't ask you to do that." Winry protested

"Why not?"

"You guys are only gonna be here for a few days, don't you wanna relax-?"

"We've seen plenty of Resembool together" Al interrupted his brother, "Besides you both look like you need it, bad"

Ed and Winry thought for a moment.

"...It has been a while since we've been anywhere..."

"Before Sammy was born for sure..." Ed rubbed the back of his head.

"Well then it's settled" Al chimed in, "You'll thank us, don't worry."

* * *

><p>Edward waiting patiently for his wife to come downstairs. He wasn't sure what was considered appropriate attire, he and Winry had gotten used to the comfortable sweats and t-shirt fashion since their son was born, so he just wore some slacks and a shirt with a red jacket. Alphonse was standing by the door, amused by his brother's solemn behavior.<p>

"Everything alright brother?"

"You know...I've never actually taken Winry on a proper date before..."

Alphonse's mouth gaped in shock of this new discovery, "You're _married_ to her, and you've never taken her out on a date!?"

"We-well would take long walks and spend time together but no, not really!" Ed's face turned slightly red.

Al shook his head, "Geez, if I had known this I would have set this up _years _ago"

Finally Mei and Winry came downstairs, Sam in his mother's arms,

"You _sure_ you'll be okay?" Winry worriedly asked,

"Of course, I take care of babies all the time in my clan, everything will be fine" Mei took Sam from Winry cheerfully,

"Okay..." Winry complied, "Well you know where his bottles are, if you need help grandma's home, and if something happens-"

"Okay okay, will you just get out of here already" Alphonse put his hands on Ed and Winry's shoulders and pushed them towards the door.

"But what if-?" Ed started.

"Don't make us have to kick you out of your own home"

* * *

><p>Because this was a last minute affair, they didn't really have anything planned, so Ed and Winry decided to head into town, figuring that was a good place to spend some time. At the very least there was plenty going on that night to keep them distracted. The couple walked around the shops for a while, looking at different items and stalls. Winry squealed at the new automail supplies that had just gotten into stock, much to to ache of Edward's wallet, and of course Ed couldn't resist the food stalls where people sold goods this time at night.<p>

"Well well if it isn't the Elrics'" one of the townspeople said noticing the couple walking by.

"We thought you two disappeared, it's been a while" Another one said cheerfully.

"Heh, yeah well a new baby does that to you" Winry half smiled, holding Ed's arm.

"How is little Samuel anyway?" An older woman asked.

"Doing okay, he's not so little though, he gets bigger everyday" Ed laughed. As more people approached them is became obvious just how much they had missed. It was like once they had a baby at home, they were completely lost in their own little world. It was a wonderful world don't get them wrong, but it was funny how much you miss. Of course, all everyone seemed to want to talk about was Sam, and what it was like for them to be new parents, and give advise on certain methods they should use on him. They were supposed to have left the house in order to get their minds _off_ the baby!

"...maybe we should go back..." Winry said worriedly.

"Not an option, those two will just throw us out again" Edward sighed, though honestly with not much else to do going home seemed like the only option, until he spotted an ice cream cart across from him. He took some money out of his pocket and paid for a cone, taking it back over to Winry still lost in her own state of maternal worry.

"I got you something..." Winry looked up and saw Ed holding the ice cream, a slight smile on his face, she carefully took it and licked it, indulging in the taste,

"Wow...I haven't had ice cream in a long time..." She beamed, "Here try it"

Ed leaned over and took a bite from the cold treat, also giving positive feedback, "Mmmmm..."

Winry giggled, "You're such a weirdo" she lifted her finger to Ed's mouth, wiping the ice cream off his cheek then seductively licked it off her finger, causing both of them to burst out laughing. "We better get out of here, people are starting to stare..."

Ed bowed down in a comical fashion, much to Winry's further embarrassment, "Well where shall we go m'lady?"

"I have an idea" Winry smiled taking Ed's hand...

* * *

><p>They walked for a good while until they reached the top of a hill overlooking the river, a large oak tree beside them. Now that they were a good ways away from the town, they could admire the night sky much easier. The moon was bright and the stars filled the sky, a couple of shooting stars even appeared. The couple held hands and leaned against each other, taking in the view of the land that went on for miles. This was why Edward loved living here as opposed to the big city of Central, everything was peaceful, quiet, nobody had any problems with each other, and all the drama of the world just seemed to be ignored.<p>

Ed got taken out of his trance when he felt Winry's hand release from his, he started to turn his head wondering why when he felt two hands on his back push him forward, causing him to yelp and roll down the grassy hill to the bottom, stopping before rolling right into the lake. He looked up and saw Winry giggling as she lightly ran down the hill to meet him.

"What was that for!?" Ed yelled taken aback, he started to get up when Winry fell on top of him, pinning him to the ground. She didn't say anything, just sat there smiling, "What are you doing...?"

"Come on, you don't remember?" Ed stared blankly, Winry pouted, "...when we were kids?"

Edward looked around, and then back up the hill to where to oak tree was. Suddenly flashes of memories came back to him. Of him, Winry, and Alphonse playing in this exact spot when they were children. He remembered running around the tree, taking long naps in the large shade, splashing each other in the river, and most of all, tackling each other and rolling down the hill.

"Whoa...it's been years..."

"Yeah...we used to come here all the time" Winry got off of him and sat next to him on the grass, she started shivering which wasn't surprising as all she was wearing was a pink sundress, Ed took off his jacket and placed it over her shoulders, keeping her warm.

"Where did the simple life go?" Ed sighed brushing grass off of him,

"I don't know...I think almost 10 years ago..." Winry said carefully, Edward knew what she was talking about...that day when he and Al decided to bring their mother back. It was a stupid idea, he knows that now, but he was just a child. A child who simply wanted his mother back, to sit around the table as a family, shown her everything they could create with alchemy, to just see her smiling face again. Was that so wrong for him to want? However, he wanted things to go back to normal so bad, he was willing to risk everything in order for it to happen, which almost ended up destroying his entire life. It took a long time for him to finally forgive himself...and allow his friends to help. For so long he was stubborn about doing everything on his own, but he soon realized that he would have been lost without his friends and allies. Ed didn't know what he would have done without everyone there to help him, especially Winry...

"What are you thinking about?" Winry asked.

"You."

"My favorite subject"

Ed looked down with a solemn look and held Winry's hand, "I don't know if I ever told you...how much you mean to me, Winry."

"This is going to sound kind up mushy...but you're part of the reason I was able to keep going all those years."

Winry looked at Ed with curious eyes, the grip on his hand growing tighter.

"I never told you this, or ever wanted to admit it, but all those years...I felt like giving up...even when I almost gave up and wanted to die...I thought of you. I thought about how I promised you'd see me again. You kept me going Winry, not only did you build me an arm and a leg to help me stand again, but you give me strength and the will to want to move in the first place. I..." Ed looked up into Winry's eyes, "I love you Winry..."

Winry didn't say anything, she just looked at him, tears welling up in her eyes, Ed smiled, "What are you crying for?"

"...I love you too Edward" Winry said wiping her eyes, she slowly scooted closer, both of them leaning in, and kissed softly gradually building up to a more intense smooching. They eventually broke away, looking at each other before they started laughing, "It's like we're teenagers..."

"Well considering we didn't have a normal adolescence, I say this makes up for it"

Winry looked down, her grin lowering to a small smile, "I miss Sammy..."

Edward sighed, "Me too..." He stood up and held out his hand for Winry to grab, "Shall we?"

* * *

><p>Ed and Winry held hands the whole way back home, leaning on each other smiling. It was good at have some time together, but more than anything they were ready to be back home. They quietly opened the door and found Alphonse and Mei sitting on the sofa reading a book together.<p>

"Where's Sammy?" Winry asked first upon entering the house.

"Sleeping like a baby" Mei said, "Did you enjoy yourselves?"

"Actually, we did" Ed put his arm around Winry's waist resting his head on her shoulder, "I can't believe I'm saying this but, you guys were right, we did need this."

"Ah-ha! So now you recognized my genius" Alphonse grinned.

"Don't push it" Ed retorted.

"But it really was nice" Winry held Ed's red jacket close to her, "In fact we-" Winry stopped when she suddenly heard her son crying from upstairs, she and Ed quickly went back into parent mode and rushed up the stairs to tend for their child.

Al and Mei sighed simultaneously, Alphonse chuckling a little, "They really were made for each other"

Ed and Winry quickly entered the bedroom to Sam's crib. Winry knelt down and picked up the whining baby, causing him to stop crying as soon as he was held close to his mother.

"Here we are, did you miss us?" Winry uttered rocking him slowly in her arms, Ed stood beside her watching, he tilted his head and smiled watching her nurture Sammy. She was always beautiful to him, but something about watching her with their son made her look breathtaking.

"What?" Winry smiled looking at Ed.

"Nothing" Ed moved closer until he was facing Winry, he held his hand up and gently brushed her hair back, "nothing at all"

Winry once again sighed, "You really are a weirdo"

"Doesn't that make you the wife of a weirdo though?"

"Yes, and I regret nothing" Winry laughed. They both stood there for a moment until Sammy reached his arms up from in between them, and using his strength he pushed his parents' head together, causing them to lightly peck each other.

"Well, I guess Al and Mei weren't the only ones who thought we needed some time together"

"Well if our own son insists" Winry giggled, and the couple moved together on their own this time, softly kissing.


	10. Blackout

**For this chapter, I present a haiku for you all**

**Sorry for late-ness  
>I had important math test<br>Needed to study  
><strong>

**that is all ^_^'''**

* * *

><p>Autumn meant many things in the rural town of Resembool; the weather cooling, children going back to school, crops being harvested, and most of all, the rain. Rain was pretty prominent this time of year, ranging from a light shower to a full on lightning storm.<p>

"There we go, all done." Winry cooed spooning the last bite of apple sauce into Sammy's mouth, he happily smacked his hands on his high chair tray with his mouth full of the thick sauce. Winry smiled and wiped his messy mouth, then proceeded to clean the dishes in the sink. She was rinsing a dish when a loud thunder sound boomed from outside, almost making her jump.

"I hate this kind of weather" she sighed, "I feel like I always have to be on guard or something." She glanced over at her son, making sure he was okay. Luckily he was still perfectly content, sitting in his chair and playing with the spoon she just fed him with. She went back to scrubbing when another booming noise occurred, only this time it was accompanied with a flash of lightning, then it became completely dark.

"You've got to be kidding me" Winry smacked her hand to her forehead, but her thought was interrupted when she heard Sammy start crying, each cry becoming louder every second, "I-It's alright sweetie, the power just went out!" Winry tried to calm him feeling her way around the kitchen. She started opening up all the drawers trying to find a candle and matches.

"Hey Winry!" Ed called from upstairs, "I think the power went out!"

"I'm aware of that dear!" Winry called back irritably, still trying to find some light and calm down Sammy. Finally she opened up a bottom cabinet and felt an old lantern. She sat it down on the counter and started twisting the switch on top, "Come on...please work..." Finally the small flame lit inside the glass container, providing some light in the room, but there was little time to celebrate with Sammy still crying behind her.

"Come here baby," Winry set the lantern on the table and scooped him up in her arm, gently bouncing in place.

"Hey Winry, what's going on down the-eeAAAUGGH!" Ed's voice came followed by loud thumping noises coming down the stairs. Winry quickly grabbed the lantern, still holding Sammy in one arm, and rushed to the stairs finding Ed face first on the floor.

"Are you alright!" Winry asked startled.

Ed sat up rubbing his head, "Yeah...damn it that hurt..." He stood up grabbing the lantern from Winry, holding it up to see each other, "Is he okay?"

"Yeah he's fine, I think he just got a little spooked" Winry replied smoothing Sammy's hair who was no longer crying, but just a slight whimper, "He's pretty brave, must be another trait he got from his daddy"

"heh, maybe" Ed walked into the living room, setting the lantern down on the coffee table and sitting on the couch, Winry joined him.

"You think the lightning hit a power chord?"

"Want me to go check?"

"Are you nuts? I'm not letting you go out there in this storm." Winry sat up, handed Sammy over, and grabbed the lantern, "I'm gonna try to find some candles, I know we have some around here somewhere..."

Ed could still hear the thunder and lightning outside, along with the beating of rain drops on the ceiling. He hoped everyone was okay, Resembool hadn't had a blackout in years. Sammy squirmed in his arms, whining a little whenever thunder crashed.

"Too loud for you buddy?" Ed held Sammy above his head, letting his feet and arms dangle above his face, "See...it's not so scary is it?" Sammy giggled when Ed moved him from side to side and up and down, distracting him from the sounds outside.

"Eureka!" Winry appeared, holding a box in her arms, "I _knew_ we had some lying around!" She sat back down next to Ed, taking a stand out of the box and placing candles on them, then taking a pack of matches and lit all of them, allowing a soft glow to light the room.

"This is actually kind of nice" Winry said leaning against her husband's shoulder, "Just spending some quiet time together, nothing to distract us"

Ed scoffed, "Geez Winry not in front of the baby..."

"I didn't mean it like that!" Winry cried smacking him in the arm. Suddenly the light when back on, "hm, must have been a quick blackout" She started blowing out the candles and turned off the lantern.

"Darn and I was just getting comfortable"

Winry smirked gathering the supplies, "Well I'm going to put these away, in a place where I'll be able to find them right away" and with that she left the room. Almost immediately afterward Sammy started to get fussy.

"Hey, the light's back on, what's up?" Ed picked up his squirming child who continued to fuss. He didn't want him to start crying, not when the mood was so perfect. Ed took a deep breath, a started to sing a song.

"_Little Bunny Foo Foo  
>Running through the forest <em> _  
>Scooping up the field mice <em> _  
>And bopping them on the head..." <em>Ed sang monotonically, Sammy immediately perked up and giggled when his dad sang, Ed was shocked at the sudden change in behavior, and continued singing the song, his enthusiasm growing with every laugh that came out of Sammy, until he heard clapping. Ed stopped singing and slowly turned his head to find Winry applauding in the doorway, obviously trying to hold back laughter.

"H...How long have you been standing there?" Ed asked with horror.

"Long enough to hear your 'wonderful' singing voice" Winry giggled and sat down, taking Sam from her embarrassed husband, "Where did you learn that song?"

"...Mom used to sing it to Al and I when we were kids" Ed uttered solemnly.

"And you still remember it?"

"heh...well she used to sing it _a lot_"

Winry smiled and took Sammy from his arms, gently cradling him, "And you thought you wouldn't be good at this parenting stuff."

"Surprised?"

"Honestly Edward" Winry smiled sighing, "After all these years, nothing you do really surprises me"

* * *

><p><strong>I know XD I looked high and low for cute nursery rhymes but that silly bunny song kept getting into my head, so there :p<strong>


	11. A Birthday!

**Waahh! I'm sorry I was bad and I missed a week! . I just had a REALLY bad week and this chapter was giving me a hard time cuz I caught a case of writer's block! . Forgive me!**

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><p>Springtime had come once again in Resembool. Flowers were blooming, the sun was appearing, and new beginnings were in the midst. As soon as he woke up Edward knew it was going to be a good day. Things were just feeling so right. He had a beautiful wife, a great son, and the world is at peace. They had a roof over their head, and good food to keep them going, along with perfect health keeping them alive. What could go wrong? Edward almost didn't want to get up but eventually he came out of his daydream and jumped out of bed, scratching his side as he walked across the hall to his son's room, where Winry was holding him happily dancing around the room, much to the toddler's enjoyment.<p>

"Well now, look who decided to wake up." Winry smirked as she stopped dancing.

"Yeah yeah, nag me right when I get out of bed" Ed replied taking Sammy from her arms and holding him up in the air, making him giggle, "Happy Birthday little guy"

"I just can't believe he's already a year old!" Winry sighed, "It all went by so fast."

"heh, I wouldn't say that" Ed said remembering all the sleepless nights.

Winry lightly smacked him in the arm, "Well we need to be over at grandma's in an hour, so stop playing around and get dressed" she said walking out the door pointing a finger to Edward.

* * *

><p>"There's the birthday boy!" Alphonse said as the Elric family came inside the house, Winry set Sammy down on the floor where he immediately ran over to his uncle, who grabbed him into his arms, "Wow, when did he start running?"<p>

"Oh he's always on the move" Winry smiled sitting down at the table.

"Now who does that remind me of...?" Pinako grinned walking into the room.

"Oh! Can I give Sammy his present now?" Mei said excitedly.

"Um, sure if you want" Winry replied raising an eyebrow. The young Xing woman ran into the other room and came out with a small brown bag with a red ribbon on it, she knelt down to the ground to Sammy's level. The toddler looked at the package carefully as Mei opened it, she reached into the bag and revealed a small wooden cage attached to a handle, with a small brown insect inside.

"...You got him a bug?" Ed asked confused.

"It's called a cricket, brother" Al corrected him, "They're considered good luck in Xing"

"I used to get one every year for my birthday" Mei explained, "I believed it would give me good luck for the year" Sammy looked at the cage carefully, then gently held the cage with both hands studying what was inside, then the cricket started making loud chirping noises. At first this startled him, but then he smiled at the song the cricket was playing.

"Well at least he likes it" Winry smiled kneeling down to look at the cricket with him.

"Well if we're done looking at bugs" Ed said as his stomach growled, "I'm starving"

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><p>"Happy Birthday!" All members of the family cheered as Sammy was held by his mother over a small cake with one candle on it, while he needed his parents to help him blow out the candle, he was full of giggles over the celebration that was his first birthday. After eating plenty of birthday cake, they opened up the rest of the birthday presents, Sammy overjoyed with each one of them. Then spent all day together laughing, playing, and remembering the past year. When night fell Winry took Sammy home and left Ed, Alphonse, and Mei at the Rockbell house to clean up. Edward was taking out the garbage when he noticed his brother leaning against the railing on the porch, looking like he was in deep thought.<p>

Edward carefully approached him, "Hey, what's up?"

"huh?" Alphonse said coming out of his thought, "Um, nothing just thinking..."

"About what?"

"n...nothing..."

"Yeah right, I know that tone" Ed set down the bag of garbage and leaned onto the railing with his brother, "Spill Al."

"Well...promise not to tell anyone?"

Ed tensed up, moving a little closer, "Is something wrong?"

"No! Nothing's wrong...I just don't want Mei to find out..."

"Find out about what?"

"Well..I'm thinking of...asking her...to umm...be my wife."

"Alphonse..." Ed's eyes widened, "You're going to propose!?"

"Shhh! You want the whole country to know!?" Al shushed him hoping Mei didn't hear from inside.

"I can't believe this!" The older brother cried joyfully, "When do you plan on asking!?"

"heh...I dunno, sometime before we go back to Xing...I'm just waiting for the right time...and I'm a little nervous"

"Don't worry about it, just stay relaxed, there's really nothing to it" Ed leaned back with his hands folded behind his head.

"Really...?" Al grinned, "From what Winry told me you were a blushing, rambling mess when you proposed to her...and something about equivalent exchange..."

"Okay so I'm not the best example!" They both laughed for a moment, Ed became serious again, "Well, tell us when you do okay? I know Winry will be excited"

"Yeah, that's especially why I don't want you to tell anyone...I love Winry like a sister, but she has a hard time keeping a secret"

* * *

><p>It was starting to get late when Ed finally got home. The windows on the house were dark, indicating that Winry and Sam were already asleep. It was almost hard to believe, he had a one year old son. He couldn't imagine himself thinking this was what his life was going to be like 5 years ago, and all in all, it was worth it. He quietly walking into the house and gently closed the door, hoping not the wake anyone. However, once he shut the door, a small glow filled the room, coming from one candle sitting on the table. He looked around until he felt Winry's body embracing him from behind, her head resting on his back, he turned around and faced her.<p>

"What is this?" He asked questioningly.

"Well considering we were a little busy for our anniversary last year, I figured this year we can celebrate properly."

That's right, Ed couldn't believe he didn't remember. Sam had the most perfect timing ever, because he was born on his and Winry's first anniversary of being married. They were so preoccupied with Sam's birthday that Ed completely forgot.

"Where's Sammy...?"

"Sleeping." Winry smiled seductively, slowly moving her heads up Ed's chest, "What do you say...?"

Edward grinned slowly, moving his hands along her back and moving his face closer to hers, "Well...I say-" Ed was interrupted by a loud cry coming from upstairs. Winry gently moved away and went upstairs. While it's true Sam had good timing with being born, other times he had really bad timing when he and Winry were alone. Edward sighed as he walked up the stairs following Winry, Sam still crying. However, Ed noticed that his cry sounded a little different than usual, like it was a stressed cry.

When he got upstairs he could see Winry holding the crying toddler, a very concerned look in her eyes, her hand on his forehead "Edward...he's burning up"

"He is?" Ed quickly walked over to feel as well, he was shocked at how hot his son's head was, it almost made his hand sweat, "Is he sick?"

"I don't know..." Winry was still looking at Sam, gently rocking him to sooth him, after a minute he stopped crying, but he was breathing weird, very shallow and almost wheezing.

"Winry..."

"Go call the doctor Ed." Wirny said worriedly.

"What's wrong with him?"

"Just do it!" Winry yelled now in a complete panic. Edward quickly ran into the hallway to phone the doctor, who hopefully was still up at this hour. From the hallway he could hear Sammy wheezing, the way Winry reacted, it must be serious...but what was going on?


	12. Sickness

**I'm ALLLLLIIIIIIIIIVE! ^_^'''  
>Sorry I haven't updated in like...4 weeks, school's catching up with me now and I have finals soon so not much time for writing, forgive me and enjoy! Specially since I left you all on a cliff-hanger(sorry!)<strong>

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><p>It was late at night when the doctor finally arrived. Everybody patiently waited in the living room while Dr. Smith was upstairs with Sam. Winry, Mei and Pinako were sitting on the couch together, Alphonse leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, and Edward paced the room for probably the hundredth time that night.<p>

"Damn it, what's taking so long?" he cursed under his breath.

"Why don't you sit Brother?" Alphonse said calmly.

"I can't..." he replied looking at the floor walking like a lion back and forth in a cage, his mind was way too full to stop. He felt as if the doctor had been with Sammy forever, what was wrong with him? He was just fine a few hours ago. Did he eat something bad? Was is something _they_ did? He glanced up for a moment and could see his wife on the sofa with Pinako, she looked like she was lost in thought as well. He imagined she was probably thinking the same things he was.

Finally Dr. Smith came downstairs removing his stethoscope, a look of deep concern on his face. Everyone immediately stood up impatient for answers. The exasperated look on the doctor's face already indicated it wasn't good news,

"Well I was afraid of this..." The doctor sighed, "This has been going around, I've already treated 5 people this month."

"What has been going around Doctor?" Alphonse spoke up when nobody else did.

"It's a severe illness, it's symptoms include fatigue, high temperature, and difficulty in breathing." he paused for a moment, clearing his throat before continuing, "So far the people infected have gotten over it...but..." Everyone froze, wanting to know what he was going to say, but at the same time they didn't, "But so far my patients have been at least seven years old..."

Ed could feel the pit of his stomach ache, "What are you saying...?"

"I'm saying that his immune system may not be strong enough that he may not overcome the illness, I'm not saying he couldn't but...if he can't..."

"You mean...he could die!?" Ed yelled enraged, everyone else dead silent.

"Well his body is definitely fighting the infection-"

"Well can't you do something! Isn't there some kind of medicine you could give him!?"

"Unfortunately no, this is a fairly new virus...all we can do is wait and hope for the best"

"What the hell kind of doctor are you?" Edward balled up his fists, his brows furrowed as if he was about to explode, "So what are we supposed to do! Just wait for him to die?!-"

"Edward!" Pinako yelled out to quiet Ed down. He looked over to Winry, her face completely blank, she blinked and walked past them all upstairs to Sam's room, not a word coming from her.

"I'll be back tomorrow" Dr. Smith said quietly, "Keep his temperature down, make sure he has plenty of fluids, and let me know if anything changes."

"We will doctor, thank you" Pinako politely walked him to the door, everyone still silent.

Alphonse slowly walked towards his tense brother, placing one hand on his shoulder, "Brother..." Ed quickly shrugged his shoulder to get his hand off of him, he didn't want to be pitied right now.

"You should go be with your wife and son, Ed" the older woman said solemnly. Ed nodded and proceeded up the staircase. He stood outside his son's door, he could hear Winry quietly sobbing from inside. He slowly opened the door and walked over to where Winry was standing next to Sam's crib. He was laying down heavily breathing, his eyes closed. Edward didn't know what to say, nothing he could say would make this better. So he put his arms around his wife, she returned the embrace and rested her head against his chest, softly crying. All Ed could do was let her cry, trying to hold back tears of his own.

* * *

><p>The next day nothing had changed. Sam's temperature was still high, and he hadn't opened his eyes at all. Edward and Winry didn't leave his side however, watching over him making sure he didn't get worse. Dr. Smith came over later that day to check up on him, not that it mattered.<p>

"Well it looks like he's not out of the hole yet" Dr. Smith sighed looking over Sam again.

"We've been doing all the things you've told us to doctor" Winry said standing beside the doctor, Al, Mei, and Pinako were also in the room listening.

"Well then we've done all we can, all we can do now is hope for the best" He put his equipment back into his bag. Edward standing beside the crib stewing in grief. Just wait? Is that all they can do?

"Oh one more thing" Dr Smith said remembering, "I'm going to need to take some blood samples from all of you"

Everyone perked up,

"What for?" Ed asked.

"Well this sickness is contagious, I just need to test if any of you happen to carry the virus"

Edward and Winry both felt their hearts drop, they couldn't imagine what they would do if they found out their son got sick because of them.

"But none of us are sick" Alphonse spoke up questioningly.

"That is true, but even if you are not affected by it the virus could still be in your body" the doctor pulled the first syringe from his bag, "If any of you do have it, it could also help up find a remedy for it."

"I'll go first" Winry held out her arm willingly. Dr. Smith carefully inserted the needle and took a small amount of blood from her arm, then carefully bandaged the area to make the bleeding stop. Everyone else lined up to get their blood drawn as well. As soon as he was done Dr. Smith said his goodbyes, wishing them the best and left. Afterwords everyone in the room was quiet again. Ed and Winry stood next to each other looking down at their weakened child, the rest of the group stood behind, just watching unable to do anything to help.

"Mei" Edward said softly addressing the young Xingese princess, "Do you think...Alkahestry can help this?"

Mei was taken aback slightly at his comment, she bowed her head sadly, "I'm sorry Edward...but Alkahestry can only heal mild ailments, and even if I could try...I don't know what exactly is wrong with Sammy...or where the problem is...I could end up causing more damage" Mei tensed up trying not to cry, "I...I'm really sorry" Alphonse put his arm around his love gently resting his head against hers, reassuring her that it was alright. Edward didn't speak, he had no way of expressing how he felt through words, he went up to the wall, leaning against it, his anger building up inside of him ready to burst. Without even thinking he took his right first and punched it against the wall with all his force, causing everyone to jump. Pain quickly rushed to his hand, forgetting that he no longer had automail and could feel the impact.

Winry could only start crying again, her grandmother comforting her, while Mei stood there feeling absolute guilt, not knowing what any of them were going through. She noticed Alphonse wasn't beside her anymore, so she quietly exited the room wondering where he went. Mei walked through the house until she found him outside, hands in his pocket, looking distraught.

"What are you doing out here?" Mei carefully asked approaching him.

"I just needed to get out of there." Alphonse put his hand to his face, "It's like that time all over again..."

"What time?" Mei put her hand on his shoulder gently.

"...when my mother died" Mei lifted her hand off of him. He had told her about his mother and how she died of an illness that she couldn't fight off. She was bed-ridden for a long time, barely awake and too weak to move. She tried to fight it off and recover, but sadly it wasn't enough, and she died peacefully. He told her about how broken it made him and his brother, and how they would do anything to see her again...even performed the ultimate sin of alchemy.

"It's kind of pathetic..." Al said thoughtfully, "Here I am grieving, and my emotions cannot even compare to how my brother and Winry are feeling..." He wiped his eyes a little with his thumb and index finger, "I just don't like being so...useless-" he stopped when he felt Mei's warm body press up against him, her arms wrapping around his neck, her petite body requiring her to stand on her tip toes to reach his face, where she softly kissed his cheek. He wrapped his arms around her tiny waist holding her close, not wanting to let go.

Alphonse bent his head down, whispering into Mei's ear, "I love you."

"I love you too Alphonse..." Mei replied still buried in his chest. The couple stood there for a long time, not moving an inch.

* * *

><p>Winry soaked the cold wash cloth again in the small bowl of water on the table, gently wringing some water out, then laid it flat on her son's hot and sweaty forehead. She felt Ed's hand touch her shoulder, but she didn't take her eyes off of Sam.<p>

"You should take a break..."

"I'm not leaving him" Winry quickly retorted, her eyes glued to her son.

"Come on...you haven't slept in over 24 hours" Edward tried to talk to her, "I'll keep an eye on him...I promise I won't leave him alone"

She turned towards her husband, her eyes were bloodshot from a mixture of tears and lack of sleep, it wasn't until Ed pointed it out that Winry realized how exhausted she was.

"Please Winry..." Edward pleaded, "I'll wake you if anything changes...you need to rest"

Winry didn't say a word. She moved past Ed brushing against his shoulder, she looked back once more and left the room, hopefully to get the sleep she deserves. Edward took his position next to the crib, watching Sam struggle with every breath, his face covered in beads of sweat. His hand was still throbbing from thrusting against the wall earlier but his pain was probably nothing compared to what Sam was going through. He reached his arm down into the crib, putting one hand on his son's head, feeling hotter than before.

"You can't die..."Edward whispered to the toddler, "You're an Elric...we've defied the odds before...always overcome every struggle...you can't let this beat you..." Edward choked up for a moment, using his free hand to wipe tears from his eyes, regaining his composure, "I don't know if this matters or not...I'm not exactly a big believer in any kind of God...but if one does exist...then just this once..." He couldn't even finish, he couldn't stop the tears this time, they ran down his face and fell to the floor. He stood there for hours like this, hoping..._begging_ for a miracle...


	13. A Miracle and more!

**Since I hadn't uploaded in along time I decided to give you guys a double-update to make up for it! ^W^**

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><p>Over the next few days Sam had only gotten worse. His temperature went through the roof and he was still in a state of almost coma. Everyone in the family had kept hope but nothing was happening. Finally, it had come to the point where Sam stopped breathing. They called Dr. Smith right away who spent hours in the room with Sam, everyone patiently waiting downstairs. When the doctor emerged he had a sad expression,<p>

"I'm sorry..." Dr. Smith said addressing the group, "I'm afraid his body just wasn't strong enough..."

There was a shot of shock that struck the room. Mei immediately started tearing up and leaned against an also shocked Alphonse. Pinako turned away looking down in anger. Ed and Winry didn't say anything. What could they say? It felt as if their entire world came crashing down_. _Winry was the first to move, falling to her knees in despair, looking down at the floor where her hands were, dead silence coming from her.

"What do you mean...his body wasn't strong enough?" Ed said sternly...not wanting to believe what he just heard, "He's...he's...dead!?"

Winry couldn't hold it in anymore, hearing those words out loud was the breaking point. She let out a loud blood curling scream, as if she suddenly went into unbearable pain. The only other person who wasn't silent was Edward, who's rage had built up and was now about to explode. Their child was dead, their _only _child was _dead!_

"H...How could this happen...?" He stammered, "He was fine...everything was fine..." Edward tried hard to keep the growing tears in his eyes from falling, not in front of everyone. Winry was still on the floor sobbing, at that point her grandmother came over to try to calm her down to no avail.

"Was there anything that could have been done to prevent this?" Alphonse cautiously asked Dr. Smith.

"I don't believe so" Dr. Smith replied, "It was a very aggressive virus...nothing could have stopped this-" Ed couldn't take it anymore. He stormed out of the room and slammed the doors as he hastened out of the house. He stood on the porch griping his hands onto the railing until his knuckles were white.

"This...this wasn't supposed to happen..." Ed stammered quietly to himself, his voice starting to choke up, "I said I would p-protect him...make s-sure nothing b-bad happened to him..." Ed had reached his point, everything around him was spinning, like someone slammed a brick into his head. He could barely stand up straight, stumbling as he moved, holding his head in his hands. "No...no...this can't...I can't..." He could barely get the words out of his mouth, the vertigo becoming worse until he heard Winry's voice

* * *

><p>"<em>Edward!<em>"

Ed's eyes shot open. He was laying in his bed, looking up at the ceiling, he could feel his face and body covered in a cold sweat. It was just a dream...was it?

"Brother!" Alphonse came quickly into the bedroom to find Ed who was still laying on his back trying to recover from the nightmare he just had, "Come quick! It's Sammy!"

Oh no. Was his nightmare coming true now? Ed quickly jumped out of bed and ran after his brother to his son's room. When he stepped inside fearing the worst, he saw Winry leaning over the crib...and smiling for the first time in days.

"Ed come over here" Winry said joyfully, "Sammy's temperature has gone down...he still has a fever but it's definitely lower." She gently lifted Sam into her arms, Edward letting out a sigh of relief.

"Dr. Smith is on his way to see" Pinako said getting off the phone in the hallway. Ed stood next to Winry as she rocked the still unconscious toddler in her arms, then they saw his eyes flutter. The parents held their breath as their son's eyes opened, slowly and not wide, but open.

"M...mama?" Sammy uttered, his voice sounding dry and tired.

Winry on the other hand became completely overjoyed, "Yes sweetie, I'm right here" She kissed his forehead softly and continued rocking him slowly. Ed put an arm around Winry and looked down at their son as well. Sam's head turned slightly towards him, reaching out his arm,

"Dada..." Sam's small voice said, Ed was rendered speechless. Sam had never said that before, he's said 'mama' plenty of times which is understandable because he spends most of the time with Winry, but he's never referred to him as anything before.

"Well now, he knows who his daddy is" Winry smirked nodding her head towards him. Edward smiled and patted his son's head, hoping this moment wasn't another dream.

* * *

><p>"Well he's not 100% better yet but he's definitely in the clear" Dr. Smith examined Sam impressed with the progress he made.<p>

"So he's going to be okay?"

Dr. Smith smiled, "I wouldn't be surprised if he made a full recovery." Ed and Winry looked at each with relief knowing their child was going to be alright. But suddenly they heard a scream coming from outside, they all rushed to Sam's window and could see Alphonse and Mei outside together, Mei jumping on Al causing him to fall to the ground. They were both laughing and kissing each other, Mei especially excited.

"What's up with those two?" Winry wondered confusedly.

"I think I have an idea" Edward grinned remembering his brother's plan.

"Edward you know something I don't!" Winry turned to him pouting, "What is it!"

"Nah, I think I'll let you find out" Ed teased causing her to turn away in a huff.

"Well then you can call me if you get concerned, he should be fine in a day or two" Dr. Smith packed his supplies and headed out, stopping once he reached the door, "Oh I almost forgot...the blood test results came in."

Ed and Winry stiffened, the almost forgot about those. The tests would tell them if any of them got Sam sick or not. While he was getting better now it would still be horrifying if one of them caused him that much pain. Edward took a deep breath, "Well what did you find out?"

"Well the good news is none of you carried the virus" They all let out another sigh of relief, "But...there was one thing we found with Mrs. Elric's blood..."

Winry's eyes shot open, "W...what is it?"

Dr. Smith made an amused face, "Well...you're pregnant"

No one else in the room had more shocked faces than Ed and Winry, who were rendered speechless.

"You guys are having another baby?" Alphonse came into the room with his now fiancee right when Dr. Smith made the announcement. Pinako chuckled from where she was standing.

Edward was the first to speak, he gulped and turned to Winry, "We're gonna have another baby?"

"I...I guess so" Winry's face turned slightly red looking up at his face, "I did want a big family anyway..." Winry was a little worried at her husband's reaction, it was almost the same petrified face he had when she was pregnant with Sammy, except this time his face changed to a happy grin, grabbing her into a hug chuckling in her ear.

"Heh...another baby, that's great!" He laughed holding Winry tightly, genuinely excited. Winry sighed happily, she could tell he actually was happy this time around, and wrapped her arms even tighter around him.

"Heh, guess this makes our engagement less excited huh, Mei?" Alphonse joked loud enough for everyone to hear.

Winry let go of Ed and turned to the two, "Wait, you're _engaged_!" She cried out squealing.

"As of 3 minutes ago yes" Mei said giggling with excitement, Winry immediately hugged Al and then Mei tightly.

Meanwhile Sammy pushed himself up the standing position in his crib, he cried out to his 'dada' to be held. Edward smiled and grabbed his son, holding him in the air which caused him to giggle uncontrollably. He noticed how big Sammy was now. He may only be a year old but he sure was growing up fast, seemed like only yesterday he was born and Ed was holding him in his arms for the first time...it made him a little sad, but happy. Of course, it was good to know that he would get to experience it again.

"Man...I can't wait..." Ed said happily. Not only was his family happy and healthy, but it was going to get _bigger _as well, in more ways than one.


	14. Quiet Night at Home

**Hello! Well I know a few of you out there are Royai fans so I thought, what the hey I'll give you guys a Royai chapter  
>There's just one problem though...while I consider myself an expert on Edwin, I'm not so keen on Royai. I mean I like them together and all but I don't think I know them well enough to make a whole fanfic on them ^_^''<br>So before I wrote this chapter I actually looked online in forums and watched a couple of Brotherhood episodes again trying to figure out more lol**

**Cross your fingers that I did a good job! .**

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><p>"Man what a long day" Brigadier General Mustang yawned as he was getting out of the military car at his military-issued house. While he enjoyed his work and was glad he had a large part in helping the military, it meant he had a much larger workload than when he was a colonel. This was the seventh time this month he had to work late and all he wanted to do was lay down and have a much needed good night sleep. He walked into the house, the first thing greeting him was an impatient Black Hayate, then Captain Hawkeye walking into the room holding a mug of tea.<p>

"It's your turn to walk him" Riza said lifting the mug to her lips.

"Ugghh! Come on I just got home and I'm exhausted, can I have a break?" Roy whined plopping down into his armchair and held a newspaper.

"Well alright but if he goes in the house again you know what that means..." Riza teased circling Roy's chair.

"Come on, you wouldn't make a tired old man sleep on the couch would you?" Roy whimpered lowering the newspaper to look at her.

"You're only 34 years old...and don't test me" the captain replied sternly giving Roy her famous 'death glare.'

"Nggh...come on you managing mutt" Roy grumbled grabbing the dog leash and stormed out the door with the excited dog.

When he got back he was even more tired and grumpy than before, especially since Black Hayate decided to give him a 'little present' on one of his good shoes. Roy dragged his feet to the kitchen where Riza was chopping some vegetable and putting them in a large pot for soup. She noticed Roy behind her and smiled a little,

"See that wasn't so hard was it?" she teased the tired general.

"When you moved in I should have never let you bring the dog" Roy opened the refrigerator and took out a carton of milk, drinking it right from the opening.

"By the way, are we still going to Xing next week for Alphonse's wedding?" Riza asked placing the top on the pot.

Roy looked up with milk in his mouth, he swallowed and raised an eyebrow, "Do you still want to? I mean Xing is quite a trip, will you be okay?"

"We went to Edward's wedding so it seems only fair we go to Alphonse's" Riza replied slicing the bread, "I talked to Knox and he said I should be fine, and anyway, Winry's going and she's supposed to have her baby at the end of the month"

"heh, to think, Fullmetal is married, has a kid, and another one on the way" Roy walked over to the counter and wrapped his arms around Riza's shoulders, "Makes me feel slow"

"I wouldn't say slow, you just took your time is all" Riza put a hand to one of Roys slightly lacing fingers with it.

"mmmm...you know I'm not _that _tired now...maybe we can go upstairs..." Roy whispered in Riza's ear seductively, instead of complying however, she used her index finger to cooly push his face away from hers, much to his disappointment.

"I'm sorry general but I'm afraid I'm out of commission for a while" Riza stated stirring the soup as it simmered, "Now go take a shower, you smell terrible" Roy looked down and remembered his shoe was still a mess.

"I'll be right back" He sighed in disappointment and quickly pecked Riza on the cheek before leaving the room, she laughed softly

"...I'll be waiting"


	15. Finally

They had been riding on the train for over four hours. No entertainment, sweltering heat, and a views of the desert that were neverending. Ed loosened his tie on his neck, it was bad enough he had to wear a suit, but why did it have to be so hot? Luckily thanks to General Mustang's efforts, Amestris and Xing made a trade treaty and built a railway between the countries a couple of years earlier. Trying to get to Xing the old fashion way on horseback would have been even worse. Pinako was sitting directly across from him fanning herself with a fan, and Winry doing the same thing, her feet propped up on the seat next to Ed. She was especially uncomfortable with her being _extremely_ pregnant and cranky.

"Ugghhh are we there yet?" Winry whined wiping sweat off her forehead.

"heh, you sound like a little kid the way you complain." Ed joked much to his wife's annoyance.

"Well _excuse_ me, I didn't exactly live on trains like you and Al did!"

"I'm surprised Alphonse has the patience to go back and forth all the time" Pinako said fanning herself, "Why is he getting married all the way in Xing anyway?"

"Well apparently with Mei being a princess of Xing, it's custom to be married in her own country, that's what Al said anyway"

"Well it's just the distance that's bothering me" The older woman said glancing over at her granddaughter, Edward doing the same. Winry quickly picked up on their stares and knew exactly what they were fussing about.

"Will you two stop, I told you already" Winry sighed sitting up, "The doctor said I shouldn't be having the baby for another couple of weeks, as long as I'm careful we'll be fine"

Edward was about to respond when the sleeping toddler laying in his lap woke up. Luckily Sam had been sleeping almost the entire time, having him awake would have been a complete nightmare. Ed could just imaging his son wanting to run all over the train, whining and complaining the entire time from impatience. He yawned and stood up rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, facing his father, he had a look of discomfort on his face.

"Potty Potty!" Sam yelled jumping on Ed's lap.

"Ed will you go change him?" Winry moaned fanning herself, "I don't wanna move..."

Ed sighed and picked up his son, "Alright stinker let's do this" He stood up and proceeded to the next boxcar where he would be able to change him without disturbing the other passengers. He was too busy trying to settle the wiggling toddler in his arms to notice two passengers sitting only a few rows behind his family, the male of the two whining as much as Winry.

"I feel like we've been on this thing forever" Roy groaned resting his head on the back of the seat. Although he often has to travel due to his work with international affairs, he will never get used to sitting on a train for hours at a time. He didn't know how the Elric brothers did it, seemed like they were on trains around the clock with all the adventures they had been on, and yet Roy could barely make it to Ishval without losing his mind. Luckily he had his partner with him or else he really would be going crazy, though there hadn't been much socializing going on with said partner going their her own bout o nausea.

"Just be grateful you don't have to worry about losing your lunch at any moment. Riza sat up holding her head from the headache she was also developing, the cause mostly from the general's complaining every 10 minutes for the past few hours.

"Here, didn't Knox say these would help?" Roy asked reaching into a suitcase and pulling out a water bottle and a packet of crackers.

Riza took a few sips from the water bottle and then went back to resting her head on her lap, "I don't want to even want to think about food right now"

"How are we gonna hide this from everyone with you sick though?"

The capital looked up and smiled, "That's why I'm suffering now so I can easily pretend later" She laughed and managed to get a chuckle out of the general, "Anyway I don't think people are going to notice _me _getting sick as much as you"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Roy said taken aback.

"Let's face it General, you're not very good at holding your liquor"

"Hey! I'm no lightweight!"

"Oh really?" Riza smirked sitting up and turning her head towards him, "Should I recall the military ball? The Armstrong's New Years party? Last week?"

"To be fair last week I only got drunk because I was busy with work and forgot to eat lunch." Roy crossed his arms, his face obviously turning red. Despite her semi-serious demeanor, Riza had a fun time teasing Roy about certain traits. Roy was all set to make a comeback but was interrupted by a former state alchemist.

"Come to think of it, didn't you get a little plastered at _my _wedding General?" Edward spoke up walking past the two officers on his way back to his seat, holding Sam in his arms who had fallen asleep on his shoulder, "I hope you don't plan on ruining my little brother's wedding with your shenanigans."

"Oh yeah, you're just lucky you have a baby in your arms Ed-!" Roy began to say sitting up until Riza grabbed his hand and rested her head on his shoulder, immediately causing him to stop. After all, how could he disturb his pregnant lover?

* * *

><p>Finally after a long, hot, tedious ten hours, they had all made it to the Imperial City of Xing. Edward stepped out of the train holding his son with his eyes wide open at the sights. He had never been to Xing before, but Al had told him a lot about it, how it was practically a completely different world from Amestris. Ed saw all the people walking around, all of them looking similar to Mei and Ling, dark hair, pale skin, and dressed in traditional clothing, not nearly as diverse as Amestris. Everything was a lot more colorful too with the buildings being in different shades of red and he couldn't even begin to describe the architecture that he had never seen before. Ed could see himself staring for hours but was taken out of his trance with his wife tugging at his arm.<p>

"Uggh, after this trip I am never riding a train again" Winry said rubbing her lower back, "So where do we go now?"

"Al said someone would be here for us" Ed looked around trying to see if he could spot someone, kind of hard when everyone looks the same and no sign of anyone helping them, but then out of nowhere a short Xingese man came walking up to the group, bowing as he addressed them.

"You must be Alphonse's guests" The man spoke in a thick Xingese accent, "You all come this way, we will take you to the palace"

"The palace?" Roy asked walking up behind Ed, "Alphonse is getting married in a palace?"

"I guess that's just one of the perks of marrying a princess of Xing" Pinako grinned shaking her head.

After a long carriage ride through the city, the group of foreigners had made it to the Imperial Palace. The were all taken through the large gates and dropped off at the front where servants were waiting to escort them to where the wedding was being held. If Ed wasn't impressed by Xing when he got off the train, he certainly was now. The palace was absolutely huge! Even Central Command wasn't this big! Inside of the palace was even greater, with high ceilings and large gold décor all throughout the walkway. Different Xing servants were walking around, carrying scrolls, sweeping the floors, most of them also bowed to the group as they walked down the hall as well. Was this what Al goes through every time he comes to Xing? Do they always treat Amestrians like they were gods or something? The group stopped once they reached the foyer. There were two large doors at the end of the hall where the ceremony was going to take place, and the current room was set up to entertain the guests before the festivities started

"Hey! Bout time you all got here!" Jean Havoc called out to the group standing next to some other members of the Amestrian military.

"What do you mean 'bout time'?" Roy crossed his arms smiling, "When did you all get here?"

Havoc simple shrugged his shoulders, "I thought I deserved a little vacation so I came a couple of days early, definitely worth it in my opinion."

"Any of you seen Alphonse around?" Ed asked wondering where his brother was, and just like magic he heard his sibling call out his name.

"Hey you all made it!" Alphonse came walking up greeting everyone. Ed immediately took notice of his brother's appearance. He was wearing a two layer outfit with the top layer being a long red silk robe with small golden embroidery designs on it and a golden dragon symbol on the back. He also had red shoes on and a very interesting looking hat that stick out at the sides and was adorned with red tassels.

"Nice look Alphonse" He grinned while looking over his outfit.

"I know it looks a little silly on me but this is traditional Xingese wedding attire" He replied rubbing the back of his head a little embarrassed.

"Well I think you look very handsome Al" Winry commented walking over to the brothers.

"Heh, thanks Winry-" He said but changed face when he noticed his sister in law's appearance as well, notably her large abdomen, "Whoa...you're huge!" Winry laughed at his reaction. He was still in Xing when Sam was born so he hadn't seen her when she was at her last stages of pregnancy. He reached out and patted her belly, frowning a little, "I feel bad that the wedding was scheduled to be at this time, are you feeling okay?"

"Not you too Al" Winry moaned tilting her head back in annoyance, "First off all I wouldn't miss this for the world and aside from this annoying ache in my back from the _agonizing train_ ride, I'm feel fine."

Just then the sound of a loud gong boomed throughout the room causing everyone to jump in surprise. A few palace servants lined up a knelt near a set of large doors where one of them stood in the middle taking a small bow before speaking.

"Presenting, His Majesty the Emperor." He said in a loud voice for all to hear. He slowly moved out of the way off to the side and the doors were opened by 2 other servants, revealing _Emperor_ Ling Yao. He walked out slowly in a _very _formal outfit consisting of many layers. He had a very serious expression on his face and did not turn his head or bat an eyelash the entire time. Edward had never seen Ling so serious and stoic before, like he was a completely different person. Granted he hadn't seen Ling in years so perhaps this was the result of many years as emperor. But then as soon as the emperor looked up and recognized his Amestrian friends, his whole demeanor completely changed.

"Well look who it is!" Ling ran up to Edward and the rest of them excitedly like a child in a candy store, much to the confusion of his servants, "What has it been almost 3 years?"

"Yeah why haven't we heard from you in all this time?" Ed joked with him bumping fists together like they used to.

"Well when you're an emperor of a whole country it's kind of hard to keep contact with friends" Ling replied bashfully, his mouth changed to a sly grin however when he noticed Winry's changed midsection and Sammy holding onto her leg, "Though it looks like you've been a bit busy yourself"

"It's good to see you again Ling" Winry said joining in the reuniting of a long distance friend.

* * *

><p>Soon after a while of socializing, all the guests were escorted into a large ceremonial room with high walls, large draperies all strewn all over and large gold statues fixated onto the walls. There were chairs set up on either side of the aisle in front of a large stage where the bride and groom would be with a small table and two cushions were set up as well. All the Amestrain guests took seats on one side of the room, Edward and the rest if the family sitting up front, while the other half of the room was made up of the entire Chang clan. Edward never knew how large the clans were but there had to have been at least 50 people taking up a whole side of the room, making the other side of less than 10 Amestrians seem puny.<p>

Finally after everyone had settled and taken their seats, the ceremony began. Xingese music began playing and right away Ed could tell the difference between Amestrian weddings and Xingese weddings.

For one thing, Alphonse and Mei entered the room at the same time, standing side by side walking down the aisle as music played, with a small group of people right behind them. While they had all seen Alphonse beforehand, they had not seen Mei yet. She looked absolutely incredible in her long, detailed wedding attire, — much more detailed than Al's was — her hair styled back in a fancy bun, and a large golden headpiece adorning her head with strings of beads falling to this sides.

The couple walked to the stage not looking at each other until they were both on either side of the small table on the stage, they took one glance at each other and slowly bowed to one another before kneeling down on the cushions. A tall man in a fancy outfit stood by the table repeating various customs and duties in terms of the marriage and what they would be participating in. A few women servers came to the table and set down what looked like an entire meal in front of Al and Mei. The tall man said a few words and placed small amounts of food in small bowls in front of them, they both bowed to him and proceeded to eat from the bowls. 'You're supposed to eat?' Edward thought watching this display in front of them, he could tell looking over at his friends' confused faces that they were thinking the same thing.

With a few more items that included drinking tea, tying strings together, and the tall man performing some kind of ritual, Alphonse and Mei looked at each other and bowed again, then stood up,faced the crowd of people, and bowed to them. Everyone in the Chang clan started clapping and cheering while the Amestrian side stood in a small silence, wondering what just happened. Did they get married? Was this how weddings were performed in Xing? Why did they practically have lunch in the ceremony? And why did they not say a word the entire time? But all that aside they all started clapping for the couple because all that mattered now was that they were married. The younger Elric brother was finally married.

* * *

><p>A short while later the guests were moved to a much larger room, this one decorated much grander with various tables set up for the guests to sit at and eat. The ElricRockbell family sat at one table along with Izumi and Sig Curtis who came despite Izumi not feeling well, saying that the only thing that would have stopped her from coming to her former student's wedding was death itself. After some socializing and a very delicious Xingese meal, music played and Alphonse and Mei entered the room, this time however Al and Mei had changed into an Amestian style suit and a form fitting Xingese dress respectively, most likely to be more comfortably during the reception. They of course had to pay their respects to Mei's family first, but then promptly made their way over to their table.

"I'm so glad you all were able to be here!" Mei greeted everyone enthusiastically looking more happy than she had ever been.

"It was an...interesting ceremony to say the least" Winry smiled trying to find the words to describe it.

"Heh, yeah I know it was very different than an Amestrain wedding that's for sure" Al said rubbing the back of his head, "I was worried I was gonna mess up a few times."

"You did fine!" Mei giggled squeezing her new husband's arm with hers wrapped around it.

"Well either way I'm happy for you two" Edward said taking a drink from his cup of tea, "But will your marriage be legal in Amestris? How does that work exactly?"

The newlyweds looked at him confused, "What do you mean?"

"Well when you guys come back to Resembool, you want your marriage to be valid right?"

Mei's shoulders fell and she looked at Alphonse with a concerned look on her face, "Did you not tell them?"

"Tell us what Al?" Winry asked.

"I wanted to tell you all in person...but..." He began to speak looking down at the ground, "...I'm not coming back to Amestris..."

The table fell silent, everyone staring at Alphonse like he had just spoke gibberish or something.

"What do you mean you're not coming back?" Pinako asked attentively.

"Well, Mei still needs to be here in Xing with her clan, if she's not here then she can't represent it properly and keep track of it...and as her husband I must stay with her."

"But Al...when would we see you?" Winry asked.

"Well we'd visit whenever we could, it's not like you'll never see me again" He turned to his brother who hadn't said a word, "I didn't want to tell you over the phone because I didn't want to upset anyone-"

"Do what you want!" Ed stood up and stormed out of the room through the large doors outside, everyone looking in his direction. Silence fell in the room in astonishment, Alphonse looking down at his feet in shame and embarrassment while Winry excused herself from the table and went after her husband, giving Al a reassuring look before going outside. Mei held onto her husband's arm worried that she had done something wrong, even Sammy sat in his chair in silence confused about what was happening.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine" Pinako placed her hand on Alphonse's arm, breaking him out of his trance.

"I hope so."

* * *

><p>Winry rushed out the doors and looked around, discovering Ed leaning against the rails on the balcony looking out into the vast country of Xing. The sun had long gone down and the whole imperial city was lit up going on for miles and music was coming from below. Winry huffed as she approached her husband, half wishing she had brought a wrench with her so she could knock some sense into him. Instead she pulled on his arm and turned him around to face her, his face completely blank.<p>

"Edward Elric what is wrong with you!?" Winry cried putting her fists on her hips, "This is supposed to be the most important day of your brother's life and you just _had _to make a scene!"

"_I _made a scene? He's the one who just revealed out of no where that he's bailing on us!"

"He's not _bailing _on anyone Ed!" Winry tried to reason with him, "He's starting a new life! Getting out on his own! Being supportive of his wife which really you could take note on!"

"...You're right, I guess I did overreact a little..." Ed said shockingly more calm than Winry had expected, he grabbed a hold of Winry's hands, gently messaging them with his thumbs.

Winry sighed, "Well you've never exactly been one to show emotions subtly." She had to face it, she could never stay mad at him for very long.

"It's just...so weird is all, I mean he was gone a lot when he would go visit Mei but that was just visiting...now he's leaving for good."

"He's not leaving for good" Winry cupped her hand on her husband's face, allowing him to look into her big blue eyes, "He and Mei can come visit us and maybe when Sam and this new baby get older we can come here and visit them, and of course we have the phone and letters-"

"But-"

"- I know you're not a fan of change..." She squeezed his hands tightly, "but I think it's just a part of life Ed...We're not the same people we were 5 years ago, we're all moving forward and changing and there's nothing we can do about it." Winry smiled and looked up at Ed, "All we can do is sit and enjoy the ride."

Edward sighed in defeat, taking his finger and brushing a lock of hair over Winry's shoulder, "Okay, so how did an idiot like me end up with someone as smart as you then?"

"Well I like to thin-" Winry started to say until she suddenly grabbed her lower abdomen with one hand,

"Are you alright?" Ed asked worryingly.

"Yeah...I just got this weird feeling-ah..." She stopped when she felt a pop inside her, her eyes widened and looked up at Ed, their horrified expressions perfectly matched knowing what had just happened. They both slowly lowered their heads and saw a puddle forming at their feet...

* * *

><p><strong>Yeah that was pretty much coming huh? BTW for Al and Mei's wedding I actually did A LOT of research into Chinese weddings and based it off that because Xing is mainly based of China in the FMA world, hopefully I wrote it well! W R&amp;R luv ya thanks!<br>**


	16. A New Addition

The party had just started to settle down and return to the celebration when Edward came bursting through the doors, Winry being carried in his arms. Everyone jumping at the sudden outburst.

"W..W...Winry's having the baby now!" He yelled in a full on panic, not quiet sure what to do.

"What!?" Came out of the mouths of everyone who could understand him, immediately causing a stand-still.

"I thought it wasn't coming until next week!?" Alphonse exclaimed in his own panic.

"Well it's not exactly up to me, Al" Winry replied getting herself out of her husband's arms, showing that she could stand on her own, "And this baby obviously wants to join in the festivities."

"What are we supposed to do!?" Everyone immediately went into a panic, voices going off in every direction as the party quickly became much more hectic, until the sound of a gong silenced them all. They looked up and saw Emperor Yao standing before them completely calm.

"If everybody will remain silent we will take care of this" Ling summoned a few servants and said a few words to them before going over to Winry and taking her hand, "Come with me"

* * *

><p>"Wow this is incredible" Ed said as he examined the room Ling brought them to. It was a large red bedroom with gold appliques all over the walls in various designs, a large bed — much bigger than the bed they had at home — sat in the middle of the room with fancy pillows and blankets on top of it and a large canopy above.<p>

"A little extravagant for childbirth isn't it?" Winry winced laying on the bed, feeling a little overwhelmed by her surroundings.

"On the contrary" Ling spoke cheerfully, "This room is where all members of the royal family were born, Mei was born in this room, I was born in this room, and so on."

"I'm not sure whether to be worried about that or not" Ed sighed pinching the bridge of his nose.

"In a few moments our palace doctor should arrive and we can-"

"Hold on young man" Pinako interrupted holding a hand up not caring that she was talking to the leader of Xing, "Now listen here, I've not only delivered Edward and Winry's first child, but I also delivered them as well when they were born, there is no need for a doctor."

"Well nevertheless our traditions require our doctor and the emperor to be present in births at our palace-"

"Wait, _you're_ staying!" Ed's eyes darted towards the foolish emperor.

"Of course Edward, as the emperor it is my privilege to be present and watch over every moment of the birth-"

"LIKE HELL YOU'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT MY WIFE DOWN THERE!"

The adults all began arguing trying to make their points in the matter while at the same time the servants were butting in trying to calm the situation while also putting their own opinions. More people began entering the room causing the commotion to be even more hectic, voices being lost in the now crowd of people. It didn't help that at that moment Winry was having another contraction, her mood and discomfort level rising and having all these voices and loud noises in her ears wasn't doing anything to ease her nerves.

"WILL EVERYONE JUST SHUT UP!" Winry yelled causing everyone in the room to become dead silent and stare in shock, usually Winry would try to stay calm but in her current situation she wasn't putting up with any of it, "All the servants, nurses, whatever, except for my grandmother and my husband, EVERYONE GET OUT!"

Everyone immediately began shuffling out of the room in fright from the yelling Amestrian woman, Ling stood his ground for a few moments until Winry gave him a death stare that could probably shatter glass, causing him to bid them good luck and practically sprint out the door. Edward could only stare in awe, only his wife could cause the emperor of Xing to run away like a scared puppy.

Pinako couldn't help but chuckle a little, "Alright then let's get to work"

* * *

><p>"There you are." Alphonse turned his head when he heard his bride approach him from behind. With all the chaos happening in the main room, he managed to duck away find some peace and quiet in the courtyard, the garden all lit up for the occasion, "What are you doing out here all by yourself?"<p>

"Just needed some air" Al replied now holding Mei close as she wrapped her arms around his waist, they stood there for a long time before he spoke again, "...you think he's still mad at me?"

"I don't think he's mad at you at all...I think he was just shocked."

"If I had known it was going to cause so much trouble though-"

"-y-you wouldn't have married me?" Mei whispered sadly.

Alphonse immediately turned around at that comment so he was facing his beautiful new wife, looking directly into her eyes, "What? No! No I still would have married you! That's not it at all! I just meant maybe we could have stayed in Amestris or figured some kind of express train to get us there and back and-!"

Mei laughed and leaned up to kiss his new husband on the lips to shut him up. Because they had a traditional Xingese wedding, this was the first time they kissed as husband and wife. They stood like that for a long time, lost in the moment, when they finally broke them lingered for a while, their foreheads against each other, both set of eyes closed.

"I love you, Alphonse."

Alphonse smiled, "I love you too, Mei."

"Hey Al!" Ling ran outside stumbling a little, "Come inside quick!" The trio immediately ran inside the ballroom where the guests were huddled together as Pinako stood before them, a small grin on her face.

"Well, it's a girl" She announced causing the group of people to cheer in excitement.

"How's Ed and Winry?" Alphonse asked moving to the front of the group, holding Mei's hand.

"They're all fine, in fact they want you and Sam to come in the room." Pinako smiled as Sam came running over to his uncle grabbing onto his leg.

"ha ha, well alright then little guy, let's go see your parents and your new sister!" He picked up the little boy and started following the servant to where his brother was, Pinako looked forward and noticed something off,

"hey, aren't you going with them?" She asked Mei as she stood there watching, jumping when she noticed she was being addressed.

"C-Can I?"

"Well of course, you're a part of this family too you know" The older woman said, Mei smiled back and hurriedly caught up to her husband as they left the room.

"What did they name the baby?" Izumi asked curiously.

"Emma, Emma Elric." Pinako replied proudly.

Suddenly a slightly drunk Roy Mustang spoke up from the crowd, "Aww really? That was a name we were thinking of using if our's was a g-UGH" he was interrupted by a slightly blushing Riza, who had elbowed him in the stomach. The attention was now focused on them.

"Wait a minute..." Havoc said confused, "Captain...are you...?"

* * *

><p>Alphonse quietly opened the large embellished door as he peered into the room, he saw his brother and sister-in-law both sitting on the large bed holding their new daughter between them, a look of complete calmness on their faces, looking down at the infant like nothing else mattered.<p>

"Mama! Daddy!" An excited Sam ran into the room causing his parents to come out of their moment and look up. Edward laughed and stood to pick up his son, lifting him slightly in the air as he giggled. However, the young boy's expression changed when he noticed his mother holding a tiny human in her arms. Ed took note on this and sat back down on the bed, still holding Sam in his arms as his eyebrows raised with curiosity,

"Sammy, this is your baby sister..." Winry whispered holding the baby closer to him.

Sam looked at the baby curiously, "Ba-Baby?"

Ed smiled, "That's right little guy, her name's Emma."

"You guys do good work" Alphonse said looking at his new niece,

"Thanks Al" Winry looked up at her brother-in-law, craning her head slightly to look at Mei, who was looking at the infant adoringly, "Mei, do you want to hold her?"

The petite woman beamed with excitement, she looked over at her husband who gently smiled, in which she nodded her head in response. Mei moved closer to Winry's outstretched arms and carefully picked up the infant, allowing her to settle in her arms. Mei stared down at the baby softly, watching her blue eyes open and look up at her, Mei could feel her heart melt as she looked over at her husband with large eyes,

"Mei..." Al said blushing a little, "We just got married..."

"Being a dad would suit you, Al." Ed remarked smirking.

"Hey!"

"It would be nice for Sam and Emma to have a little cousin."

"Not you too Winry!"

The group laughed to Alphonse's expense, then spent a little while longer visiting until Pinako kicked every one out, saying that Winry needed to rest. Later in the evening Edward was trying to find a restroom in the giant palace only to find his brother sitting alone in a small sitting room by himself, looking like he was in deep thought.

"Hey" Ed approached him cautiously, taking a seat a foot away.

"Hey" The younger brother replied back, "What's up?"

"Well I have a daughter now..." Al chuckled lightly.

"Yeah...and I'm married now."

"How does it feel?"

"To be honest, not that much different. Am I supposed to feel different?"

"Haha, I don't think so, I mean I didn't feel any different either...except maybe a little more weight on my left hand." They both laughed, but then sat silently for a few minutes, knowing this conversation was going to come up eventually.

"So...is everything okay? With us?" Alphonse was the first to speak. Edward only shrugged, "You know I can't help it brother, Mei has a lot of responsibilities here, it would be selfish for me to ask her to give all that up just so we can live in Resembool."

"It's okay."

"And I ju-what?"

"I said it's fine." Al stood in confusion, he opened his mouth but Ed interrupted him again, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have overreacted. You can do whatever you want, you don't need my permission to do anything."

"It's not like we'd never see each other again, I mean, we'll visit."

"I know." The older brother sighed and stretched his arms, "I guess, I'm not used to us being apart for very long, I mean we've always done everything together, it felt weird whenever I looked over and you weren't next to me."

Alphonse moved closer to his brother, hesitating before putting a hand on his shoulder, "Remember what you told me a couple of years ago? When you and Winry got married?"

Ed turned his head.

"We'll still be brothers, even if we go down different paths, we'll always be best friends...right?"

Edward looked at Alphonse for a few moments before a grin formed on his face, he held his fist out, in which Al pressed his fist against it.

"Right."


	17. Changes

**I know, you guys all hate me TToTT. I'm sorry this has taken forever to get out! I could say that school's been tough(which it has) and life got in the way(which life does go on), but I'm going to be honest with you all and say, I'm losing my mojo with this fic. **

**In every writer's "career" they come up with a story and they're pumped! They write every day, they upload in a timely matter and it's awesome! But then there comes a point where you just start losing interest in the story, you know what you want to write, you have it planned out, but coming up with words just becomes a chore more than enjoyment. You may see this is the recent chapters some of the dialogue and writing may be a _little _more muddled than the earlier chapters, and that's why. And that's not to say I don't love this fic! It's the longest series I've written and I DO want to finish it! Trust me I can't stand it when I find a fic I love and then the author disappears off the face of the Earth and I never find out the ending :'(. I'm just ready to head onto different things. If you have me on author alert you may have noticed I've been writing...umm...little one shots(The show is a guilty pleasure okay!?) But those are random things I come up with on the fly, not like in a series where I have to create the development and all that.**

**Which leads to this: there is ONE more chapter after this. And it's not because I'm losing mojo, I actually had this planned out from the very beginning, the last chapter of this fic is what's going to bring everything full circle and you'll see how I got inspired to write this. After I'm done with this then I plan on starting a NEW Fullmetal Alchemist fic, one that is REALLY funny that you may enjoy(HINT: It involves Sam and Emma as adults =w=) So don't despair! I will keep writing, and I have 4 weeks left in my school semester so that means once winter break comes I will be a FREE GIRL!(Well...while I'm taking an online class and working on cosplay for ALA...)**

**Thank you so much for sticking around and thank you to the people who've been alerting me and this fic even though it hasn't been updated in a while. I appreciate every one of you and getting good feedback on my writing has really made me feel good about myself ^_^  
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**So no more wasting time. Enjoy!**

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><p>"Shoot" Winry uttered digging through her box of parts to no avail. She only had to finish one last piece of this automail arm before she can be done for the day, and just her luck, she ran out of E-800 bolts. Winry slumped down into her seat with a sigh, now she was going to have to go all the way into town to get some, and the arm needed to be finished by that afternoon. The impatient mechanic began calculating the time and cost to go into town, when she remembered that her grandmother would always buy parts in bulk, enough that it would take months for her to go through them, surely she would have some spare bolts.<p>

Meanwhile, downstairs it was shockingly at peace. While Winry was upstairs working, Edward was spending the morning looking after the kids. Ed was just finishing changing Emma's diaper while Sammy played on the floor beside them with his toy train, he looked up when he noticed his wife coming down the stairs.

"I'm going over to Grandma's for a part, I shouldn't be gone for too long."

"Alright, I was going to put these two down for a nap, is that okay?" Ed replied picked up Emma and resting her over his shoulder.

"Hmm, well in that case I'll make it a _very _short visit." Winry said a little more seductive than she intended causing Ed's eyebrows to shoot up. Winry gave a half smile and made her way out the door.

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><p>The walk to the Rockbell house luckily wasn't that far from their house. It was amazing how it hadn't changed from the time Winry was first born. It was at the end of the same dirt path, rested on the same quiet hill, painted with the same color scheme — albeit a little faded — , and the same big "Auto Mail" sign still sitting out front. Winry casually walked to the front door and let herself in like she always did. However, this time when she walked inside, something seemed different, like something was off.<p>

"Hello? Grandma?" Winry called out walking into the main room, maybe she went out shopping? But suddenly Winry was alerted by Den running towards her, barking very loudly.

"What is it Den?" Winry asked the jumpy dog, she never got worked up like this. The dog quickly started running up the staircase, Winry decided to follow...and was led to a sight she wish she never found.

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><p>Ed had just finally gotten Emma to fall asleep in her crib. Sam was easy when it came to going to sleep, but Emma was a little more reluctant. She preferred to stay awake with everyone which made it quite a chore to settle her down. But as Edward looked down at his daughter sleeping, his heart couldn't help but soften. Don't get him wrong, he loved his son and he would never play favorites with either one of his children, but Emma was his daughter. He can be rough with Sammy when it came to playing, but with a little girl it just seems like you needed to be much more gentle, more sensitive, he couldn't explain it. Not to mention she was the spitting image of her mother, same pale blond hair, same deep blue eyes, although Winry said that a lot of her facial features resembled him. Ed caressed Emma's small cheek one last time before leaving the room and heading back downstairs. Winry said she would be right back but it had already been a while, probably got distracted by some new part Pinako got or something. When those two get together it was impossible for them to stop, it was crazy. Ed heard his stomach growl and thought about what he wanted for lunch but then heard a loud knock coming from the door. He answered the door and was greeted by one of the townspeople who lived not far from them, looking a little frantic.<p>

"Edward" She breathed a little out of breath, "You need to get over to the Rockbell house right away!"

"Wait, what?" Ed responded worriedly, "What happened? Is everything okay?"

"I-I don't know" The woman said regaining her breathing pattern, "I'll stay here and keep an eye on the children, but you need to get to Winry!"

"Okay, thanks!" Ed didn't hear another word as he moved past the woman and practically sprinted down the path towards the house on the hill. The trip seemed like it was lasting a lifetime. What was going on? The neighbor said he had to get to Winry, was she alright? Did something happen to her? When Edward finally got to the house he was almost panting, he saw the front door open so he went up the steps and straight into the house, where Winry was sitting in a chair, unharmed, but her face was blank.

Ed ran over to his wife,"Winry! Hey, what's going on?"

"Grandma's gone." Winry spoke not even looking at Ed, her eyes focused on the wall in front of her.

"Gone? What do you mean 'gone'?"

"As in gone, she's..." She choked on her words, "Grandma's dead."

And those words, hit Edward like a ton of bricks. Dead. Pinako's..._dead_? But that can't be. He just saw her yesterday and she was fine! Still giving wise cracks about his height, playing with Sam and Emma, eating dinner, going on about how much work she had to do. And now suddenly she's dead?

"H...how?" Ed managed to stammer out, he then turned around when he heard footsteps behind him,which belonged to a doctor and a mortician, who both just came from downstairs.

"We believe she died in her sleep, so at least she wasn't in any pain" The doctor explain in a solemn tone, "She lived a very long life."

"We'll be back later on, I'm sorry for your loss" The mortician said in the same way. Ed thanked them and when they left the room, he turned back to Winry, who in all this time, hadn't change expression.

"Winry...are you alright?" He asked carefully, she didn't respond, all she did was hold Ed's hand tight, before letting out a loud sob. Edward wasn't sure what to do, he had never been good at comforting people. So instead, he just stood there, holding his wife's hand, letting her cry into his shoulder, it was all he could do.

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><p>A few days later the funeral was held at the cemetery. Pinako was buried deep within the grounds, next to her husband, son, and daughter-in-law, with Trisha and Hohenheim close by. Edward and Winry stood together each holding one of their children in the front along with Alphonse and Mei, who had taken the first train out from Xing when they heard the news. Others were there as well who knew Pinako from neighbors to people she had given automail to. It was a peaceful ceremony with speeches spoken by every one, some from people Ed and Winry never even met, but they were all kind words. The whole time Winry didn't seem to be there. It was hard to come to the fact that she was the only living Rockbell left, even though she had abandoned the Rockbell last name years ago when she got married. Pinako was the only older blood relative that she had left, and the fact that she was gone suddenly put perspective in her life. Although she learned at a young age that life was short and must be lived to the fullest, it's times like these that the same message gets thrown at you again. Pinako was the type of person to live life to the fullest, and she did until the very end.<p>

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><p>About a week afterwards the mood was still rather dim. Nobody really talked about it, nor did they really <em>want <em>to talk about it. The whole thing just seemed too hard to swallow, like it wasn't even real. Pinako was someone they had all known — save for Mei — their entire lives. She was there whenever they fell, or when they were hungry and needed something to eat. She provided Ed and Al with a home when they had lost the only family they had, and continued to stay with them after they tried human transmutation and nearly killed themselves. Even after Ed became a state alchemist and joined the miltray - something Pinako was very much against - she never turned them away. She almost always had a smile on her face, and always had something to say, even if it offended the opposite party. And now, they'll never see that smile or hear that throaty laugh again.

On this day however, the whole Elric family got together to go to the Rockbell house — where they needed to clean it out. None of them wanted to go over there, but they knew that they had to if they wanted to keep anything that was left. Al and Mei decided to pack the upstairs, while Ed and Winry took the downstairs, since a lot of Pinako's automail supplies was there. Winry sorted through the parts and pieces of the workshop with care, her sadness growing with every memory of the place. She can remember the first time she ever picked up a wrench, when her grandmother taught her exactly what parts were which and how they go together. She told Winry that she was a prodigy at a young age, but secretly Winry thought she wouldn't be nearly as good without a teacher like her grandmother.

"Hey." Winry snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Edward coming up from behind. He set a box down on the floor and wiped his forehead of sweat.

"How's it going?" Winry asked facing him.

"Al and Mei are still packing the bedrooms, and I got most of the kitchen done. How about you?"

"I'm almost done here." Winry turned back to her sorting while Ed just stood there, kicking the floor with his right foot.

"It's so weird...I feel like it's so much emptier now." Edward spoke looking around.

"I know."

"What are we going to do with this place anyway?"

"Well the logical choice would be to sell it, but I don't know if I want to...I mean" Winry stopped as she heard her voice crack a little. The problem was that it was _more _than a house to them. Winry had spent the majority of her life in this house, learned to build her first mechanical limb, where Edward first received his automail and stood up on two legs again. They even got _married_ here! How could they just sell it away like the last 22 years meant nothing?

"I just thought of something." Ed spoke out loud looking at the floor, "Sam and Emma aren't going to want to share a bedroom forever. Plus with the mass amounts of orders you've been getting, you could use a larger shop. And if we have people coming to visit us, we could use the extra space..."

Winry dropped the screw she was holding and abruptly turned around with her mouth a gaped at what he was saying...

"Maybe...we can all move here?"

"Are you serious?"

"Do you not want to?"

"No! I-I mean yes it sounds like a great idea but, what about the house we have now?"

Ed didn't think about that. He hummed as he thought for a moment, "Well we can still keep it, maybe Al and Mei would want a nice home in Resembool to come home to-oof!" Ed couldn't finish his sentence when Winry slammed into him, her arms wrapped around his neck and her head resting on his shoulder.

"I think it sounds like a wonderful idea." Ed smiled and put his hands on Winry's waist, glad to see her finally smile again after these past few days.

"What's going on?" Alphonse asked as he and May walked into the room, wondering what the commotion was.

Ed turned and grinned, "We're moving!"

Al's face couldn't have gotten any paler, "W-where?"

"Here!" Winry chimed, "Instead of selling grandma's house, we're going to move into it!"

"What about your home down the road?" Mei asked.

"We thought of that, and we were wondering how you two felt about having a vacation home?"

It was Al's turn to smile now, "That sounds great!" he turned eagerly to his wife who nodded approvingly.

"Well then it's all settled, let's move in!" Winry practically skipped out of the room with Al and Mei as they went to discuss switching houses. Edward held back however, he picked up a loose bolt on the floor, he couldn't help but smile to himself as he read he label: E-800.


	18. The End

**Before I make my introductions, I'd like to address a certain review I got regarding Al and Mei's wedding being inaccurate to the Chinese culture. I would never want to offend another culture and I did study a lot of how Chinese weddings work beforehand so I wouldn't go too far off, but I didn't mind changing a few things because the FMA universe is full of historical inaccuracies.**

**In FMA the story takes place in the early 1900's, around 1910-1915. This is also evidence by The Conqueror of Shamballa where the alternate universe is actually 1920's Germany. Compared to our world in those years it was very different. For example, in those times where was NO WAY a woman could take part in active duty in the military fighting on the field(Riza)let alone hold a high rank(Olivier was a general!) The fashion in the FMA universe is different as well, like Winry walking around in tiny miniskirts would have been a complete no-no O.O**

**Even Xing itself is not technically China, but seem to be a combination of China, Korea, Vietnam, and Japan. A lot of the clothing Ling, Mei, Lan Fan, and Fu wore is more Japanese style and the ninja and samurai techniques they use is based off Japanese techniques. While other things like alkahestry is based off early Chinese medical teachings, and their names are Chinese. Xing itself means "Star" in Mandarin. **

**Also, Remember how Mei and Ling were in a race to find the philisopher's stone so they could ascend the throne? If this were real China then Mei would not be able to become empress no matter what because she had 24 other brothers who could take the throne. While China is no longer a empire, in Japan currently the law is that a girl cannot ascend the throne if a boy is born. A few years ago when the crown prince had a daughter the parliament was worried that they were going to have to change the law in her favor if no other boys were born...until the crown prince's brother had a son and now everything's fine because the cousin will take the throne(totally unfair if you ask me). It was only this year that England changed their laws so that if Will and Kate had a daughter she would have automatically been next in line even if she did have a brother. (can you tell I'm a sucker for monarchies?) Hence why my little changes to the Xing doesn't not seem that big.**

**O-kay now that we've had that little history lesson, it's time to move onto THE FINAL CHAPTER...**

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><p>"Whew." Winry huffed as she set down the last box in the kitchen. It had been a week since Ed and Winry decided to move to the old Rockbell house and it was more work than they thought. As Winry began putting away dishes she thought about how much things have changed. It had only been about 5 years ago that Ed and Al came home, with Al's body back and Ed's arm restored. So much had happened since then, after the brothers came back from their journeys, Ed and Winry got married. Soon after that they had their son, and even not long after that their daughter came unexpectedly, at Al and Mei's wedding no doubt! Sometimes she wished that time could just stand still for a moment, but then Winry remembers that if life doesn't keep moving forward, then that leaves nothing for life to live for, and memories wouldn't be made.<p>

Thinking of memories, Winry took that moment to walk over to the huge cork board in the middle of the dining room. Winry remembered her parents putting it up when she was younger, saying that it was a lot more interesting than to just keep a picture album. There were many pictures from her childhood posted, from birthdays to just snapshots of people. Except, Winry suddenly noticed one picture missing; the family picture of the Elric's before Hohenheim disappeared. Winry looked under other photos for it but it's like it had disappeared. Winry could feel her heart aching with of the loss of the only picture Ed and Al had of their parents. It only made Winry realize more how important it was to capture every moment, because eventually, everyone you know and love will be gone, and all you'll have left are memories and mementos.

This made her come up with an idea.

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><p>Edward lightly hummed to himself as he placed his various alchemy books on his new bookshelf in his new study. Winry had been putting things away in the kitchen, Al and Mei were working on unpacking the living room, and luckily the kids were asleep. At this rate with no stopping they should be moved in by tonight. Of course it was right when Ed was in the unpacking zone that he heard a light knock on the door.<p>

"Who is it?" Ed looked up from his book and entered his brother.

"Winry wants us all downstairs." Alphonse said as he opened the door.

"What for?"

"No idea, but she says it's important." Edward sighed as he set the book down and followed Al downstairs to the living area, where he was surprised to see a strange man standing in the middle of the room setting up a camera.

"Good afternoon, Sir." The photographer tipped his hat to Ed.

"What's going on?" Ed asked confused as Winry approached him holding Emma in her arms.

"Well I realized we don't have any kind of family photo." Winry said cheerfully, "So I got someone to come over to take one for us."

"Right now?" Ed looked down at his old red sweatshirt and black pants, feeling under-dressed for the occasion.

"Why not?" Winry turned to Al and Mei, "You two are going to be in the photo as well, so please Al, smooth your hair a little..."

Ed couldn't help but chuckle a little, Winry can be so eccentric at times it was almost overwhelming. Edward desperately wished there was a way he could look inside Winry's head just so he could see what he train of thought was. But then he felt a small tug at his pants leg coming from Sammy who was sitting on the ground looking up at him with a large grin..

Edward sighed and picked up his son, "Well, let's get ready to take a picture, little guy."

The photographer adjusted his lens and had everyone take their positions in the middle of the room, Ed and Winry front and center with Sam and Emma, and Al and Mei right behind them, Shao Mei even managed to get herself in there.

"This is sudden, why the interest in family pictures now?" Ed whispered to Winry next to him as the photographer did some last minute prep.

Winry shrugged her shoulders, "I wanted a picture of us all together, that's all."

"Alright, everyone get ready to smile"

"We're not going to have times like this much longer..." Ed turned his head towards Winry's comment, "Eventually, we're all going to be gone, all things must come to an end. And all we'll have left are the memories."

"Winry..."

"I just want to have this moment. A single second where we're all together and happy, without the thought of an end in our minds."

"Say Cheese!"

As the photo was taken, Ed took to heart what Winry had said. She was right after all, all things must come to an end. We live our whole lives thinking the ones we love or the things we hold dear are invincible, but in the end, they are all vulnerable, and the end can come at any time. Always take the time to appreciate the ones you have around you, because you never know if they'll still be around the next day. This is why the memories of every day are so important. A small event that may seem insignificant at the moment, may very well be one of the best memories of your life. When it all comes down to it, every moment should be cherished, and life's too short to be spending time hating and letting the small things bring you down.

It was because of these thoughts, that when the camera flashes, Ed put on the largest smile his mouth could achieve.

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><p><strong>It's done? I'm done!? I'M DONE! Now you see how the story came full circle? This entire story was inspired by that one picture but look what came out of it! I wrote a series I'm actually proud of and I can't wait to get to my next project!<strong>


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